Software Requirements: A Tutorial

Deciding precisely what to build and documenting the results is the goal of the requirements phase of software development. Experience shows that requirements are the biggest software engineering problem for developers of large, complex systems. The purpose of this tutorial is to help the reader und...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Faulk, Stuart R
Format: Report
Language:English
Subjects:
COMPUTER PROGRAMS
Computer Systems
DECISION MAKING
LIFE CYCLES
PATTERNS
REQUIREMENTS
SOFTWARE ENGINEERING
STATE OF THE ART
SYSTEMS APPROACH
TEACHING METHODS
TUTORIALS
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Summary:Deciding precisely what to build and documenting the results is the goal of the requirements phase of software development. Experience shows that requirements are the biggest software engineering problem for developers of large, complex systems. The purpose of this tutorial is to help the reader understand why requirements are so difficult to do well, where the state of the art does and does not address current development problems, the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches to requirements, and what help we can expect from ongoing technical developments. Focus of the tutorial is on providing the reader with an understanding of the underlying issues in requirements analysis and specification. It describes the different facets of the requirements problem from the points of view of the many parties involved in system development including customers, contractors, management, regulators, and developers. It discusses the goals of the requirements phase and the problems that can arise in achieving those goals. It describes the characteristics of a disciplined software engineering process and how such a process helps address many of the problems in requirements. It compares a variety of published approaches relative to the goals of a disciplined process. Finally it examines technical trends, including recent work at the Naval Research Laboratory, and discusses where significant advances are likely in the future.