A Method for Identification and Ranking of Requirements Sources

TL;DR

This paper introduces a collaborative, four-step method for identifying and ranking requirements data sources, validated through industrial case studies, to improve stakeholder prioritization and data source selection in requirements engineering.

Contribution

It presents a novel systematic method for requirements source identification and prioritization that supports consensus-building and rational analysis within organizations.

Findings

Supports systematic identification and prioritization of data sources

Helps resolve discrepancies between organizational perspectives

Analyzes rationale behind data source selection

Abstract

Requirements engineering (RE) literature acknowledges the importance of early stakeholder identification. The sources of requirements are many and also constantly changing as the market and business constantly change. Identifying and consulting all stakeholders on the market is impractical; thus many companies utilize indirect data sources, e.g. documents and representatives of larger groups of stakeholders. However, companies often collect irrelevant data or develop their products based on the sub-optimal information sources that may lead to missing market opportunities. We propose a collaborative method for identification and selection of data sources. The method consists of four steps and aims to build consensus between different perspectives in an organization. We demonstrate the use of the method with three industrial case studies. We have presented and statically validated the method to support prioritization of stakeholders for MDRE. Our results show that the method can support the identification and selection of data sources in three ways: (1) by providing systematic steps to identify and prioritize data sources for RE, (2) by highlighting and resolving discrepancies between different perspectives in an organization, and (3) by analyzing the underlying rationale for using certain data sources.