Review of Information Gathering Techniques - Database Systems - page 487

• Brainstorming is useful in situations in which software systems

are required, but there is no readily available information that
would lead to the specification of the requirements of such
systems. Brainstorming involves a number of software engineers
coming together to discuss and hammer out the requirements of
a software system.

• Mathematical proof is particularly useful in an environment

where formal methods are used for software requirements
specification.

• One primary objective of these techniques is the identification

and accurate specification of the information entities (or object
types) comprising the software system.

Accurate and comprehensive information gathering is critical to the success of a
software engineering venture. In fact, the success of the venture depends to a large extent
on this. Your information fathering skills will improve with practice and experience.

A3.10 References and/or Recommended
Readings
[Daniel, 1989] Daniel, Wayne, and Terrel, James. Business Statistics for Management and
Economics 5 th ed. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1989.
[DeGroot, 1986] DeGroot, Morris H. Probability and Statistics 2 nd ed. Reading,
MA: Addison-Wesley, 1986.
[Foster, 2010] Foster, Elvis. Software Engineering — A Methodical Approach . Bloomington,
IN: Xlibris Publishing, 2010. See Chapter 5 and Appendix 4.
[Harris, 1995] Harris, David. Systems Analysis and Design: A Project Approach .
Fort Worth, TX: Dryden Press, 1995. See Chapters 3, 4.
[Kendall, 1999] Kendall, Kenneth E. and Julia E. Kendall. Systems Analysis and Design
4 th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1999. See Chapters 4 - 8.
[Long, 1989] Long, Larry. Management Information Systems . Eaglewood Cliffs,
NJ: Prentice Hall, 1989. See Chapter 13.
[Pfleeger, 2006] Pfleeger, Shari Lawrence. Software Engineering Theory and Practice 3 rd ed .
Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2006. See Chapter 4.
[Sommerville, 2001] Sommerville, Ian. Software Engineering 6 th ed. Reading,
MA: Addison-Wesley, 2001. See Chapter 8.
[Sommerville, 2006] Sommerville, Ian. Software Engineering 8 th ed. Reading,
MA: Addison-Wesley, 2006. See Chapter 7.
[Van Vliet, 2000] Van Vliet, Hans. Software Engineering 2 nd ed . New York,
NY: John Wiley & Sons, 2000. See Chapter 9.