A practical guide to requirements elicitation techniques selection - An empirical study

Abstract

Requirements elicitation (RE) is the most critical phase in requirement engineering. It is the moment in which analysts elicit, understand and validate the requirements of a system from stakeholders. RE process is resource-intensive and it is therefore accomplished with the support of predetermined techniques. The advancement of technology has introduced many RE techniques and thus analysts are provided with various possible options. The options however are not always obvious. It is uncertain on how to select the right techniques for specific situations under certain conditions. Although several selection guidelines do exist, they are mainly theoretical rather than pragmatic. This study addressed this issue by conducting in-depth interviews with five experienced practitioners from four Middle-Eastern software organisations. The objective of the study was to identify the important factors that contribute to RE techniques selection from the perspective of practitioners in the industry. Four factors were identified by using content analysis, namely technique features, stakeholder characteristics, requirements sources and project environment. The factors form a practical guide that could help analysts to determine the appropriate RE techniques for a given project.