Requirements elicitation in goal oriented requirements engineering

Abstract

The purpose of the study is to identify shortcomings of requirements elicitation when implementing goal oriented requirements engineering (GORE) methods. Ultimately a framework will be created to address the shortcomings identified. The objective of the framework is to provide guidelines for the implementation of the requirements elicitation phase when a GORE method is used. The ever-changing environment of information technology results in changes in requirements throughout the development life cycle. The need to adapt to these changes produced agile systems development methodologies. As a result of these more adaptive systems development methods, goal oriented requirements engineering (GORE), was introduced. This technique relies on goals being established and requirements extracted from these goals. Requirements elicitation is a phase of the Requirements Engineering (RE) process and encompasses activities to do with obtaining the requirements of the new system from various sources. In order to identify specific shortcomings in terms of requirements elicitation in GORE, current frameworks/methods need to be evaluated and studied. The study will help to create a new framework based on current best practices. This framework will help to provide solutions for the limitations, which are needed because most of the current models focus on different aspects of GORE and not on the elicitation phase. The positivist research paradigm indicated the use of questionnaires as the main method of data collection. Statistical data analysis provided results that gave descriptive information about the implementation of GORE methods and showed how their use compared with that of traditional RE. From these results, the main components were identified. They include elicitation techniques, communication, changes in requirements, and the interaction with the other phases within GORE. Each of these components indicated a strong relationship with the requirements elicitation phase. The framework, based on these components, provides guidelines for the requirements elicitation phase and indicates possibilities for future research into this subject.