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Contemporary Challenges in Requirements
Discovery and Validation: Two Case Studies
in Complex Environments
Sean Hansen and Kalle Lyytinen
Abstract
Requirements have remained a key source of difficulty since the dawn of
computing. Complicating this fact, recent substantive changes in systems develop-
ment and associated requirements processes - as reflected in reliance on packaged
software components, off-shore development, and software-as-a-service - demand a
reappraisal of requirements challenges. Yet, there are few empirical studies focusing
on what current requirements challenges are, why they emerge and how they affect
requirements engineering (RE) efforts. In the present study, we assess the cogni-
tive, social, and complexity-based impediments to effective requirements discovery
through two exploratory case studies of large, multi-party development projects. We
develop a rich understanding of the requirements challenges facing these develop-
ment efforts, how these challenges interact and affect the requirements engineering
process and outcomes. The analyses reveal significant consistency in the primary
challenges of large RE efforts and the profoundly systemic nature of requirements-
related impediments. Several recommendations for research and practice of RE are
developed.
1 Introduction
In their early seminal work, Ross and Schoman [
47]
stated that inadequate atten-
tion to system functions leads to “skyrocketing costs, missed schedules, waste
and duplication, disgruntled users, and an endless series of patches and repairs
euphemistically called 'system maintenance'” (p. 6). Since then researchers have
continued to observe that major sources of project distress are related to a project's
“requirements mess” persists
[28]
. Complicating this pursuit is the observation that
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