Field Studies of Requirements Engineering

Abstract

Despite the fact that RE has happened many times in practice, surprisingly little is known about the actual process of specifying software. Most research of RE remains conceptual and concentrates on methods and techniques, primarily supporting a single activity of the RE process (Chen 1976, De Marco 1978, Coad and Yourdon 1990, Booch 1994). In this chapter, we will review seven published field studies that report on RE in practice (Curtis et al. 1988, Lübars et al. 1992, Emam and Madhavji 1995, Nidumolu 1996, Chatzoglou 1997, Doherty and King 1998, Guinan et al. 1998). While such studies are still scarce, they provide important insights into how to improve RE.