Software Requirements Management through the Lenses of People, Organizational and Technological Dimensions

Abstract:

The inadequate specification of requirements remains being indicated as one of the main reasons for the failure of software development projects. A possible explanation for this failure is that requirements management tends to overvalue the technology side of requirements. However, the requirements management depends on other important issues beyond technology which are sometimes neglected. Good requirements are only assured by the right balance of three dimensions: people, organization and technology. Through the lens of each of these three dimensions, this paper reviews significant literature, identifying some of the key issues and concerns about the management of software requirements, particularly the software requirements specification. Major software quality attributes, like clearness, completeness, correctness, understandability, verifiability or validity, consistency and feasibility, are used to analyze several important facets of software requirements management. Implications for future research are discussed.

Keywords: software requirements specification; requirements management; technological dimension; organizational dimension; people dimension; software quality attributes