Naming the Pain in Requirements Engineering

I had the honor to present the last results from our initiative for a global survey on the state of the practice and contemporary problems in requirements engineering at the First German Requirements Night in Munich.
More information on the survey: http://www.re-survey.org

Transcript

1. German Requirements Night München, 2016-04-07 Stefan Wagner Naming the Pain in Requirements Engineering
2. You can copy, share and change, film and photograph, blog, live-blog and tweet this presentation given that you attribute it to its author and respect the rights and licences of its parts. based on slides by @SMEasterbrook und @ethanwhite
3. There are mostly isolated investigations of methods in requirements engineering research.
4. Research is not driven by problems from industry.
5. An empirical understanding of the state of the practice and problems in RE is necessary for relevant research.
6. 1 Ideas and Design
7. Research questions and methods 1. How are requirements elicited and documented? 2. How are requirements changed and aligned with tests? 3. Why and how is RE improved? 4. Is there an RE standard and how is it applied? 5. What contemporary problems exist in RE and how do they manifest themselves? Bi-yearly World-wide
8. International Replication Global Replication Validation Preparation Germany International Communities Conceptualisation of research questions Presentation & discussions at communities Initial creation of questionnaire Internal validation External validation Industrial pilot Initiation First interpretation Creation Distribution List Implementation / correction Invitation Synthesis & reporting 1. Replication (Netherlands) Dissemination Creation distribution list Invitation Data analysis & interpretation Final reporting Online Survey Spreadsheet Data Analysis & Interpretation Creation Distribution List Invitation Creation distribution list Baseline Report Yearly RE Community Report Replication Report Survey Results Creation distribution list Invitation Data analysis & interpretation Planning PROMISE Repository Data Analysis & Interpretation Invitation Data analysis & interpretation Current Stage
9. Validation Preparation Germany International Communities Conceptualisation of research questions Presentation & discussions at communities Initial creation of questionnaire Internal validation External validation Industrial pilot Initiation First interpretation Implementation / correction 1. Replication (Netherlands) Creation distribution list Invitation Data analysis & interpretation Final reporting Online Survey Spreadsheet Baseline Report Replication Report Survey Results Creation distribution list Invitation Data analysis & interpretation
10. International Replication Global Replication Initiation First interpretation Creation Distribution List Invitation Synthesis & reporting 1. Replication (Netherlands) Dissemination Creation distribution list Invitation Data analysis & interpretation Final reporting Data Analysis & Interpretation Creation Distribution List Invitation Creation distribution list Baseline Report Yearly RE Community Report Replication Report Survey Results Creation distribution list Invitation Data analysis & interpretation Planning PROMISE Repository Data Analysis & Interpretation Invitation Data analysis & interpretation Current Stage
11. 2nd run 2014/15 10 Countries 228 Companies
12. 2 General Highlights
13. Formal/semi-formal goal models are rarely used in practice. Central Europe North/Eastern Europe North America South America 5 % 18 % 1 % 2 % 5 % 4 % 7 % 7 % Semi-formal Formal
14. Product Backlog and change requests dominate. Update product backlog Only work with change requests Change specification Other 9 % 18 % 32 % 37 %
15. Managing traces is common. Between requirements and code Between requirements and design None Other 18 % 21 % 42 % 46 %
16. Improvement in RE is motivated intrinsically. It helps us to determine our strengths and weaknesses Expected by customer Other Certification Regulation (CMMI etc.) 5 % 10 % 11 % 22 % 64 %
17. 3 Experienced Problems D. Méndez Fernández, S. Wagner, M. Kalinowski, M. Felderer, P. Mafra, A. Vetrò et al. Naming the Pain in Requirements Engineering: Contemporary Problems, Causes, and Effects in Practice. Submited to Empirical Software Engineering.
18. Most common RE problems
19. Most common RE problems
20. Most common RE problems
21. Communication flaws between project team and the customer Customer does not know what he wants Lack of a well-defined RE process Lack of experience of RE team members Lack of time Missing direct communication to customer Requirements remain too abstract Too high team distribution Unclear roles and responsonsibilities at customer side Weak qualification of RE team members Communication flaws between project team and the customer Communication flaws within the project team Incomplete and / or hidden requirements Inconsistent requirements Insufficient support by customer Moving targets (changing goals, business processes and / or requirements) Stakeholders with difficulties in separating requirements from previously known solution designs Time boxing / Not enough time in general Underspecified requirements that are too abstract and allow for various interpretations Weak access to customer needs and / or (internal) business information Project Completed Project Failed
22. Causes for incomplete/hidden requirements
23. Causes for incomplete/hidden requirements
24. Effects of incomplete/hidden requirements
26. An empirical understanding of the state of the practice and problems in RE is necessary for relevant research.
27. Prof. Dr. Stefan Wagner e-mail stefan.wagner@informatik.uni-stuttgart.de phone +49 (0) 711 685-88455 WWW www.iste.uni-stuttgart.de/se Twitter prof_wagnerst ORCID 0000-0002-5256-8429 Institute of Software Technology Slides are available at www.stefan-wagner.biz. Joint work with Daniel Méndez Fernández, Michael Felderer, Marcos Kalinowski and the whole NaPiRE team: www.re-survey.org
28. Pictures Used in this Slide Deck Alex (https://flic.kr/p/84ThFe) Zürich Neumünster Basis by Ikiwaner (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ a9/Zuerich_Neumuenster_Basis.jpg) Carlota and Isabel Islands by Storm Crypt (https://flic.kr/p/5DjfE2) The Bosch Multi-Storey Car Park by rykerstribe (https://flic.kr/p/53hosQ)