Management issues in requirements engineering: An analysis of methods and problems as reported Atlanta-area software practitioners (Georgia)

Requirements management plays an important role in the development of software systems. Being the first step in the process of software engineering, the effort has potential to shape the direction for all subsequent project activity. The software development industry has a long anecdotal history of disparaging the processes of requirements gathering, definition, and expression. The purpose of this study was to seek more concrete data as to why the discipline is seen as wanting. The methodology used was a Likert-scale questionnaire submitted to requirements engineers, software developers, and software managers. One hundred seventy-seven responses were completed. The results showed strong agreement as to specific process faults, including deficits in the areas of requirements management, business expertise availability, and thorough analysis.