A taxonomy of current issues in requirements engineering

A discussion of various classification criteria for existing requirements specification techniques follows a brief review of requirements specification contents and concerns.

Abstract

The contents of a requirements specification is presented in light of the consensus reached both theoreticians and practitioners. The desirable properties of a requirements specification justified from a functionalist viewpoint and it is suggested that changes in the way one uses requirements may alter the relative significance of different properties. Finally, a classification requirements specification techniques is proposed and used as a backdrop against which current issues in the requirements engineering field are examined. The emphasis is on identifying general problem areas rather than offering the reader a literature survey. The paper shows that, despite significant growth, the requirements area still face a number of important unresolved issues including the need for: broader formal foundation for both functional and non-functional requirements, greater degree of formality and automation, new requirements development methods, and higher level of integration in the overall design process.