05 Fakultät Informatik, Elektrotechnik und Informationstechnik
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://elib.uni-stuttgart.de/handle/11682/6
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Item Open Access Towards building knowledge on causes of critical requirements engineering problems(2015) Kalinowski, Marcos; Spínola, Rodrigo Oliveira; Conte, Tayana; Prikladnicki, Rafael; Méndez Fernández, Daniel; Wagner, Stefan[Context] Many software projects fail due to problems in requirements engineering (RE). [Objective] The goal of this paper is to gather information on relevant RE problems and to represent knowledge on their most common causes. [Method] We replicated a global family of RE surveys in the Brazil and used the data to identify critical RE problems and to build probabilistic cause-effect diagrams to represent knowledge on their common causes. [Results] The survey was answered by 74 different organizations, including small, medium and very large sized companies, conducting both, plan-driven and agile development. The most critical RE problems, according to those organizations, are related to communication and to incomplete or underspecified requirements. We provide the full probabilistic cause-effect diagrams with knowledge on common causes of the most critical identified RE problems online. [Conclusion] We believe that the knowledge presented in the diagrams can be helpful to support organizations in conducting causal analysis sessions by providing an initial understanding on what usually causes critical RE problems.Item Open Access Where do we stand in requirements engineering improvement today? : first results from a mapping study(2014) Méndez Fernández, Daniel; Ognawala, Saahil; Wagner, Stefan; Daneva, MayaRequirements engineering process improvement (REPI) approaches have gained much attention in research and practice. So far, however, there is no comprehensive view on the research in REPI in terms of solutions and current state of reported evidence. This paper aims to provide an overview on the existing solutions, their underlying principles and their research type facets, i.e. their state of empirical evidence. To this end, we conducted a systematic mapping study of the REPI publication space. This paper reports on the first findings regarding research type facets of the contributions as well as selected methodological principles. We found a strong focus in the existing research on solution proposals for REPI approaches that concentrate on normative assessments and benchmarks of the RE activities rather than on holistic RE improvements according to individual goals of companies. We conclude, so far, that there is a need to broaden the work and to investigate more problem-driven REPI which also targets the improvement of the quality of the underlying RE artefacts.Item Open Access Naming the pain in requirements engineering: design of a global family of surveys and first results from Germany(2013) Méndez Fernández, Daniel; Wagner, StefanContext: For many years, we have observed industry struggling in defining a high quality requirements engineering (RE) and researchers trying to understand industrial expectations and problems. Although we are investigating the discipline with a plethora of empirical studies, those studies either concentrate on validating specific methods or on single companies or countries. Therefore, they allow only for limited empirical generalisations. Objective: To lay an empirical and generalisable foundation about the state of the practice in RE, we aim at a series of open and reproducible surveys that allow us to steer future research in a problem-driven manner. Method: We designed a globally distributed family of surveys in joint collaborations with different researchers from different countries. The instrument is based on an initial theory inferred from available studies. As a long-term goal, the survey will be regularly replicated to manifest a clear understanding on the status quo and practical needs in RE. In this paper, we present the design of the family of surveys and first results of its start in Germany. Results: Our first results contain responses from 30 German companies. The results are not yet generalisable, but already indicate several trends and problems. For instance, a commonly stated problem respondents see in their company standards are artefacts being underrepresented, and important problems they experience in their projects are incomplete and inconsistent requirements. Conclusion: The results suggest that the survey design and instrument are well-suited to be replicated and, thereby, to create a generalisable empirical basis of RE in practice.Item Open Access Preventing incomplete/hidden requirements: reflections on survey data from Austria and Brazil(2015) Kalinowski, Marcos; Felderer, Michael; Conte, Tayana; Spinola, Rodrigo; Prikladnicki, Rafael; Winkler, Dietmar; Méndez Fernández, Daniel; Wagner, Stefan[Context] Many software projects fail due to problems in requirements engineering (RE). [Goal] The goal of this paper is analyzing a specific and relevant RE problem in detail: incomplete/hidden requirements. [Method] We replicated a global family of RE surveys with representatives of software organizations in Austria and Brazil. We used the data to (a) characterize the criticality of the selected RE problem, and to (b) analyze the reported main causes and mitigation actions. Based on the analysis, we discuss how to prevent the problem. [Results] The survey includes 14 different organizations in Austria and 74 in Brazil, including small, medium and large sized companies, conducting both, plan-driven and agile development processes. Respondents from both countries cited the incomplete/hidden requirements problem as one of the most critical RE problems. We identified and graphically represented the main causes and documented solution options to address these causes. Further, we compiled a list of reported mitigation actions. [Conclusions] From a practical point of view, this paper provides further insights into common causes of incomplete/hidden requirements and on how to prevent this problem.Item Open Access A case study on artefact-based RE improvement in practice(2015) Méndez Fernández, Daniel; Wagner, StefanBackground: Most requirements engineering (RE) process improvement approaches are solution-driven and activity-based. They focus on the assessment of the RE of a company against an external norm of best practices. A consequence is that practitioners often have to rely on an improvement approach that skips a profound problem analysis and that results in an RE approach that might be alien to the organisational needs. Objective: In recent years, we have developed an RE improvement approach (called ArtREPI ) that guides a holistic RE improvement against individual goals of a company putting primary attention to the quality of the artefacts. In this paper, we aim at exploring ArtREPI’s benefits and limitations. Method: We contribute an industrial evaluation of ArtREPI by relying on a case study research. Results: Our results suggest that ArtREPI is well-suited for the establishment of an RE that reflects a specific organisational culture but to some extent at the cost of efficiency resulting from intensive discussions on a terminology that suits all involved stakeholders. Conclusions: Our results reveal first benefits and limitations, but we can also conclude the need of longitudinal and independent investigations for which we herewith lay the foundation.Item Open Access Fast feedback cycles in empirical software engineering research(2015) Vetrò, Antonio; Ognawala, Saahil; Méndez Fernández, Daniel; Wagner, StefanBackground/Context: Gathering empirical knowledge is a time consuming task and the results from empirical studies often are soon outdated by new technological solutions. As a result, the impact of empirical results on software engineering practice is often not guaranteed. Objective/Aim: In this paper, we summarize the ongoing discussion on "Empirical Software Engineering 2.0" as a way to improve the impact of empirical results on industrial practices. We propose a way to combine data mining and analysis with domain knowledge to enable fast feedback cycles in empirical software engineering research. Method: We identify the key concepts on gathering fast feedback in empirical software engineering by following an experience-based line of reasoning by argument. Based on the identified key concepts, we design and execute a small proof of concept with a company to demonstrate potential benefits of the approach. Results: In our example, we observed that a simple double feedback mechanism notably increased the precision of the data analysis and improved the quality of the knowledge gathered. Conclusion: Our results serve as a basis to foster discussion and collaboration within the research community for a development of the idea.