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2013 3rd International Workshop on Empirical Requirements Engineering (EmpiRE),
July 15, 2013,
Rio de Janeiro, Brasil
2013 3rd International Workshop on Empirical Requirements Engineering (EmpiRE)
Preface
Foreword
Welcome to the third International Workshop on Empirical Requirements Engineering (EmpiRE 2013) at RE’13!
The overall objective of the EmpiRE workshop series is to increase the cross-fertilization of Empirical Software Engineering (ESE) methods and Requirements Engineering (RE) by actively encouraging the exchange of knowledge and ideas between the communities of ESE and RE. Since its first edition in 2011 at RE’11 in Trento, EmpiRE has been serving as a platform that promotes the use of new evaluation techniques from ESE in the area of RE as well as the discussion on new domains and problems in RE where involving ESE will make a great difference. The targeted outcomes of EmpiRE include the identification of open research problems and possible solutions to these problems regarding: (i) what aspects and properties of RE approaches can be evaluated; (ii) what factors, criteria, and metrics are appropriate; (iii) what empirical studies can be conducted; (iv) how empirical studies can be replicated; (v) what is the role of the user.
Requirements Engineering Process and Technology Evaluation
Specifying a Framework for Evaluating Requirements Engineering Technology: Challenges and Lessons Learned
Jose Luis de la Vara,
Davide Falessi, and
Eric Verhulst
(Simula Research Laboratory, Norway; Fraunhofer CESE, USA; Altreonic, Belgium)
Evaluating requirements engineering technology is a challenging activity. It becomes even more difficult when having to evaluate the technology and thus to show its suitability in real settings, as access to industrial resources might be limited and the target domain might be complex or very sensitive. This paper reports on our experience in specifying an evaluation framework for requirements engineering technology. The technology aims to improve safety assurance and certification practices, and is being developed in the scope of a large-scale European research project. We focus on presenting the challenges encountered and the lessons learned while specifying the framework. These lessons summarise how we addressed, plan to address, or propose to address the challenges. This information can be useful for other researchers and practitioners that have to evaluate requirements engineering technology in general, and with industry and for safety assurance and certification in particular.
@InProceedings{EmpiRE13p1,
author = {Jose Luis de la Vara and Davide Falessi and Eric Verhulst},
title = {Specifying a Framework for Evaluating Requirements Engineering Technology: Challenges and Lessons Learned},
booktitle = {Proc.\ EmpiRE},
publisher = {IEEE},
pages = {1--8},
doi = {},
year = {2013},
}
Evaluating the REMO-EKD Technique: A Technique for the Elicitation of Software Requirements Based on EKD Organizational Models
Marcos de Oliveira,
Davi Viana,
Tayana Conte,
Sérgio Vieira, and
Sabrina Marczak
(UFAM, Brasil; FUCAPI, Brasil; PUCRS, Brasil)
One of the most common problems regarding software quality is the software’s incapability of offering effective and efficient support to business operations. A possible reason for this lack of support is the inconsistency of the requirements related to the business needs. Therefore, strategies that help the identification of requirements based on organizational processes and context are welcomed. This paper reports on our empirical work that aimed at evaluating the REMO-EKD technique. REMO-EKD is a technique that consists on a set of heuristics for the elicitation of software requirements based on organizational models. These heuristics are based on the Enterprise Knowledge Development approach. We discuss the quantitative results of the study and how they can help improving the REMO-EKD technique. Results of the evaluation suggest that our technique supports the extraction of requirements from EKD organizational models, maximizing the number of total requirements found.
@InProceedings{EmpiRE13p9,
author = {Marcos de Oliveira and Davi Viana and Tayana Conte and Sérgio Vieira and Sabrina Marczak},
title = {Evaluating the REMO-EKD Technique: A Technique for the Elicitation of Software Requirements Based on EKD Organizational Models},
booktitle = {Proc.\ EmpiRE},
publisher = {IEEE},
pages = {9--16},
doi = {},
year = {2013},
}
Managing Requirements Volatility while ‘Scrumming’ within the V-Model
Anitha PC,
Deepti Savio, and
V. S. Mani
(Siemens, India)
Changing requirements are a characteristic of all projects today, and the subject of requirements volatility has received attention in both research and industry. The inherent inflexibility of traditional, plan-driven development methods, such as the V-model, in adapting to changes in requirements at various phases of the project has given rise to several agile approaches. In practice, however, globally distributed projects typically combine traditional as well as agile approaches for process rigor and adaptability. In this paper, we discuss the issue of how to manage the causes and mitigate the undesirable effects of requirements volatility in this kind of project set-up. While there is a lot of work on the technical facet of requirements volatility (for example, the development of metrics for its measurement and impact on the existing product modules), its effects on the people involved in the project needs to be given equal weightage. We describe how the technical (project-specific)and non-technical (people-specific) aspects of requirements change were carried through in five globally distributed software-intensive projects that combined the V-model and agile approaches. We discuss how the effects of requirements volatility were smoothed out in the Scrumming-within-the-V-Model paradigm. We then suggest best practices gleaned from these experiences, and throw open some real-world issues that can be
taken back to research for further investigation.
@InProceedings{EmpiRE13p17,
author = {Anitha PC and Deepti Savio and V. S. Mani},
title = {Managing Requirements Volatility while ‘Scrumming’ within the V-Model},
booktitle = {Proc.\ EmpiRE},
publisher = {IEEE},
pages = {17--23},
doi = {},
year = {2013},
}
User Involvement in Requirements Engineering
Users’ Involvement in Requirements Engineering and System Success
Muneera Bano and
Didar Zowghi
(University of Technology Sydney, Australia)
Involving users in software development in general, and in Requirements Engineering (RE) in particular, has been considered for over three decades. It is axiomatically believed to contribute significantly to a successful system. However, not much attention has been paid to ascertain in which phases of software development life cycle involvement or participation of users is most beneficial. In this paper we present an investigation into the concept of users’ involvement during RE activities and explore its relationship with system success. We have conducted a systematic literature review (SLR) using guidelines of Evidence Based Software Engineering. Our SLR identified 87 empirical studies from the period of 1980 to 2012. Only 13 studies focused specifically on investigating users’ involvement in RE and 9 of these confirmed benefits of involving users in requirements analysis and 4 remain inconclusive. Effective involvement of users in RE may reduce the need for their more active involvement in the rest of software development. This paper also offers a checklist we have created from the identified factors of all 87 empirical studies that should be utilised for effective users’ involvement in RE.
@InProceedings{EmpiRE13p24,
author = {Muneera Bano and Didar Zowghi},
title = {Users’ Involvement in Requirements Engineering and System Success},
booktitle = {Proc.\ EmpiRE},
publisher = {IEEE},
pages = {24--31},
doi = {},
year = {2013},
}
Studying Relevant Socio-technical Aspects of Requirements-Driven Collaboration in Agile Teams
Irum Inayat,
Sabrina Marczak, and
Siti Salwa Salim
(University of Malaya, Malaysia; PUCRS, Brasil)
Requirements engineering requires intensive collaboration among team members. Agile methods also require constant collaboration among those involved in the project. While working on certain interdependent tasks, team members develop social and technical relationships that instigate socio-technical dependencies. The main goal of our research is to investigate socio-technical aspects that underlie requirements-driven collaboration among agile teams and their influence on project performance. In this paper we present our research approach to achieve such goal and briefly report on preliminary findings. A survey revealed that communication and awareness are the most relevant socio-technical aspects that underlie requirements-driven collaboration in agile teams. Initial findings of a case study aiming to identify requirements-driven collaboration patterns suggest that teams well aware of each other have lesser communication gaps and require lesser rework. Findings will contribute to a better understanding of the relationship between collaboration and performance in agile teams.
@InProceedings{EmpiRE13p32,
author = {Irum Inayat and Sabrina Marczak and Siti Salwa Salim},
title = {Studying Relevant Socio-technical Aspects of Requirements-Driven Collaboration in Agile Teams},
booktitle = {Proc.\ EmpiRE},
publisher = {IEEE},
pages = {32--35},
doi = {},
year = {2013},
}
Future Research in Requirements Engineering
Process Research in Requirements Elicitation
Tore Dybå and
Daniela S. Cruzes
(SINTEF, Norway)
Empirical research is starting to be more used in the area of requirements elicitation. It mostly focuses on the effects of techniques in the final product of the elicitation process in laboratory experiments. Our argument is that future advances in requirements elicitation practice are unlikely to come from such studies. Requirements elicitation research needs a deeper processual orientation, focusing on how and why the elicitation process unfolds in a particular direction. The research should be performed longitudinally in real contexts through different methods of data collection, investigating current and historical events from different perspectives.
@InProceedings{EmpiRE13p36,
author = {Tore Dybå and Daniela S. Cruzes},
title = {Process Research in Requirements Elicitation},
booktitle = {Proc.\ EmpiRE},
publisher = {IEEE},
pages = {36--39},
doi = {},
year = {2013},
}
Requirements Prioritization in Software Engineering: A Systematic Mapping Study
Massimiliano Pergher and
Bruno Rossi
(Free University of Bolzano, Italy)
In this paper, we report about a systematic mapping study in software requirements prioritization with a specific focus on empirical studies. We extracted overall 65 research papers mapped according to different facets: year of publication, research type, and research focus. Out of the initial sample, we focused then on a subset of 39 empirical studies. The results show that the interest from the research community is clustered around the more recent years. The majority of the studies are
about the validation of research or solution proposals. We report the prevalence of studies on techniques and methodologies while there is a scarce interest in the strict evaluation of tools that
could be beneficial to industry. In most of the empirical studies we found a bottom-up approach, centering on the techniques and on accuracy as the dependent variable, as well as on functional
requirements as the main research focus. Based on the results, we provide recommendations for future research directions.
@InProceedings{EmpiRE13p40,
author = {Massimiliano Pergher and Bruno Rossi},
title = {Requirements Prioritization in Software Engineering: A Systematic Mapping Study},
booktitle = {Proc.\ EmpiRE},
publisher = {IEEE},
pages = {40--44},
doi = {},
year = {2013},
}
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