A Methodological Proposal to Improve Communication Requirements Engineering A Methodological Proposal to Improve Communication Requirements Engineering

Abstract

Requirements Engineering (RE) involves the knowledge of individuals’ situational needs in order to enhance comprehension of leading problems, goals and solution alternatives. This engineering follows a series of stages and tasks which require constant cooperation, coordination and communication among the different stakeholders, while maintaining a variety of perspectives and points of view. Consequently, it poses great communication challenges.

This paper proposes a methodological approximation in order to foster better communication among stakeholders during the RE processes. The framework of this approximation is process engineering and communication strategies, yet from the perspective of knowledge elicitation techniques (KET), as well as communication techniques (CT).

Given the highly human nature of RE, we will show how this proposal enables the upgrade of communication processes through four stages, namely: (1) identification techniques that contribute to communication, (2) formal specifications of said techniques to understand them in their use, (3) definition of a methodological approximation for RE, (4) application of this proposal on a random sample of a software development companies.