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I Don't Need Requirements – I Know What I'm Doing! Usability as a Critical Human Factor in Requirements Management
Author(s) -
Hoehne Oliver
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
incose international symposium
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2334-5837
DOI - 10.1002/j.2334-5837.2017.00410.x
Subject(s) - usability , requirements engineering , requirements management , requirement , requirements analysis , computer science , process (computing) , requirements elicitation , usable , system requirements , business requirements , temptation , user requirements document , software engineering , engineering , world wide web , work in process , operations management , human–computer interaction , business process , software , psychology , social psychology , programming language , operating system
The INCOSE Systems Engineering Handbook Version 4.0 lists the word “process” 1,597 times, yet the word “people” only 65 times. This paper argues that human aspect (people) considerations are similarly underrepresented in requirements management (RM), and that RM focuses mainly on processes and products (tools). This is also reflected in the ISO/IEC/IEEE 29148:2011 abstract that refers to “provisions for the processes and products related to the engineering of requirements …”. The paper makes the case that due to the lack of human aspect considerations many requirements specifications do not meet the definition of usability, where requirement specification users can achieve their objectives with effectiveness, efficiency, and satisfaction. The consumer behavior theory suggests that if (requirements specifications) consumption is made too difficult, then consumers will want to move on to things they actually find satisfying (e.g. design, implementation, testing). By providing requirements specifications that are not readily usable to consumers, an additional processing burden is placed on them, and consumers might succumb to the temptation to cut the requirements analysis phase short. Combined with overconfidence, this may result in requirements consumers to move on, stating: “ I have done this before. I don't need requirements. I know what I'm doing! ”. This paper will identify the underlying root cause, and propose a method to introduce usability into the requirements management process, making the process more practical and convenient for the requirements consumer, and as a result, achieve better project performance.