Requirement Engineering

Requirements engineering (RE) refers to the process of defining, documenting, and

maintaining requirements in the engineering design process. Requirement
engineering provides the appropriate mechanism to understand what the customer
desires, analyzing the need, and assessing feasibility, negotiating a reasonable
solution, specifying the solution clearly, validating the specifications and managing
the requirements as they are transformed into a working system. Thus, requirement
engineering is the disciplined application of proven principles, methods, tools, and
notation to describe a proposed system's intended behavior and its associated
constraints.

Requirement Engineering Process

It is a four-step process, which includes -

1. Feasibility Study
2. Requirement Elicitation and Analysis
3. Software Requirement Specification
4. Software Requirement Validation
5. Software Requirement Management
1. Feasibility Study:
The objective behind the feasibility study is to create the reasons for developing the
software that is acceptable to users, flexible to change and conformable to
established standards.

Types of Feasibility:

1. Technical Feasibility - Technical feasibility evaluates the current technologies,

which are needed to accomplish customer requirements within the time and
budget.
2. Operational Feasibility - Operational feasibility assesses the range in which
the required software performs a series of levels to solve business problems
and customer requirements.
 3. Economic Feasibility - Economic feasibility decides whether the necessary
software can generate financial profits for an organization.

2. Requirement Elicitation and Analysis:

This is also known as the gathering of requirements. Here, requirements are
identified with the help of customers and existing systems processes, if available.

Analysis of requirements starts with requirement elicitation. The requirements are

analyzed to identify inconsistencies, defects, omission, etc. We describe requirements
in terms of relationships and also resolve conflicts if any.

Problems of Elicitation and Analysis

o Getting all, and only, the right people involved.

o Stakeholders often don't know what they want
o Stakeholders express requirements in their terms.
o Stakeholders may have conflicting requirements.
o Requirement change during the analysis process.
o Organizational and political factors may influence system requirements.
3. Software Requirement Specification:
Software requirement specification is a kind of document which is created by a
software analyst after the requirements collected from the various sources - the
requirement received by the customer written in ordinary language. It is the job of
the analyst to write the requirement in technical language so that they can be
understood and beneficial by the development team.

The models used at this stage include ER diagrams, data flow diagrams (DFDs),
function decomposition diagrams (FDDs), data dictionaries, etc.

o Data Flow Diagrams: Data Flow Diagrams (DFDs) are used widely for
modeling the requirements. DFD shows the flow of data through a system.
The system may be a company, an organization, a set of procedures, a
computer hardware system, a software system, or any combination of the
preceding. The DFD is also known as a data flow graph or bubble chart.
 o Data Dictionaries: Data Dictionaries are simply repositories to store
information about all data items defined in DFDs. At the requirements stage,
the data dictionary should at least define customer data items, to ensure that
the customer and developers use the same definition and terminologies.
o Entity-Relationship Diagrams: Another tool for requirement specification is
the entity-relationship diagram, often called an "E-R diagram." It is a detailed
logical representation of the data for the organization and uses three main
constructs i.e. data entities, relationships, and their associated attributes.

4. Software Requirement Validation:

After requirement specifications developed, the requirements discussed in this
document are validated. The user might demand illegal, impossible solution or
experts may misinterpret the needs. Requirements can be the check against the
following conditions -

o If they can practically implement

o If they are correct and as per the functionality and specially of software
o If there are any ambiguities
o If they are full
o If they can describe

Requirements Validation Techniques

o Requirements reviews/inspections: systematic manual analysis of the

requirements.
o Prototyping: Using an executable model of the system to check
requirements.
o Test-case generation: Developing tests for requirements to check testability.
o Automated consistency analysis: checking for the consistency of structured
requirements descriptions.

Software Requirement Management:

Requirement management is the process of managing changing requirements during
the requirements engineering process and system development.

New requirements emerge during the process as business needs a change, and a
better understanding of the system is developed.
The priority of requirements from different viewpoints changes during development
process.

The business and technical environment of the system changes during the
development.

Prerequisite of Software requirements

Collection of software requirements is the basis of the entire software development
project. Hence they should be clear, correct, and well-defined.

A complete Software Requirement Specifications should be:

o Clear
o Correct
o Consistent
o Coherent
o Comprehensible
o Modifiable
o Verifiable
o Prioritized
o Unambiguous
o Traceable
o Credible source

Software Requirements: Largely software requirements must be categorized into

two categories:

1. Functional Requirements: Functional requirements define a function that a

system or system element must be qualified to perform and must be
documented in different forms. The functional requirements are describing
the behavior of the system as it correlates to the system's functionality.
2. Non-functional Requirements: This can be the necessities that specify the
criteria that can be used to decide the operation instead of specific behaviors
of the system.
Non-functional requirements are divided into two main categories:
o Execution qualities like security and usability, which are observable at
run time.
 o Evolution qualities like testability, maintainability, extensibility, and
scalability that embodied in the static structure of the software system.

Requirements engineering is the process of identifying, eliciting, analyzing,

specifying, validating, and managing the needs and expectations of stakeholders for
a software system.
Steps in Requirements Engineering Process
The requirements engineering process is an iterative process that involves several
steps, including:
Requirements Elicitation
This is the process of gathering information about the needs and expectations of
stakeholders for the software system. This step involves interviews, surveys, focus
groups, and other techniques to gather information from stakeholders.
Requirements Analysis
This step involves analyzing the information gathered in the requirements elicitation
step to identify the high-level goals and objectives of the software system. It also
involves identifying any constraints or limitations that may affect the development
of the software system.
Requirements Specification
This step involves documenting the requirements identified in the analysis step in a
clear, consistent, and unambiguous manner. This step also involves prioritizing and
grouping the requirements into manageable chunks.
Requirements Validation
This step involves checking that the requirements are complete, consistent, and
accurate. It also involves checking that the requirements are testable and that they
meet the needs and expectations of stakeholders.
Requirements Management
This step involves managing the requirements throughout the software development
life cycle, including tracking and controlling changes, and ensuring that the
requirements are still valid and relevant.
Requirement Engineering
The Requirements Engineering process is a critical step in the software development
life cycle as it helps to ensure that the software system being developed meets the
needs and expectations of stakeholders, and that it is developed on time, within
budget, and to the required quality.
Requirement Engineering is the process of defining, documenting and maintaining
the requirements. It is a process of gathering and defining service provided by the
system. it is the disciplined application of proven principle , methods ,tools and
notations to describe a proposed system’s intended behaviour and its associated
constraints.
Tools Involved in Requirement Engineering
 observation report
 Questionnaire ( survey , poll )
  Use cases
 User stories
 Requirement workshop
 Mind mapping
 Role playing
 Prototyping
Requirements Engineering Process Consists of the
Following Main Activities
 Requirements elicitation
 Requirements specification
 Requirements verification and validation
 Requirements management
Requirements Elicitation
It is related to the various ways used to gain knowledge about the project domain
and requirements. The various sources of domain knowledge include customers,
business manuals, the existing software of same type, standards and other
stakeholders of the project. The techniques used for requirements elicitation include
interviews, brainstorming, task analysis, Delphi technique, prototyping, etc. Some of
these are discussed here. Elicitation does not produce formal models of the
requirements understood. Instead, it widens the domain knowledge of the analyst
and thus helps in providing input to the next stage.
Requirements elicitation is the process of gathering information about the needs and
expectations of stakeholders for a software system. This is the first step in the
requirements engineering process and it is critical to the success of the software
development project. The goal of this step is to understand the problem that the
software system is intended to solve, and the needs and expectations of the
stakeholders who will use the system.
There are several techniques that can be used to elicit requirements, including:
 Interviews: These are one-on-one conversations with stakeholders to
gather information about their needs and expectations.
 Surveys: These are questionnaires that are distributed to stakeholders to
gather information about their needs and expectations.
 Focus Groups: These are small groups of stakeholders who are brought
together to discuss their needs and expectations for the software system.
 Observation: This technique involves observing the stakeholders in their
work environment to gather information about their needs and
expectations.
 Prototyping: This technique involves creating a working model of the
software system, which can be used to gather feedback from stakeholders
and to validate requirements.
It’s important to document, organize and prioritize the requirements obtained from
all these techniques to ensure that they are complete, consistent and accurate.
Requirements Specification
This activity is used to produce formal software requirement models. All the
requirements including the functional as well as the non-functional requirements and
the constraints are specified by these models in totality. During specification, more
knowledge about the problem may be required which can again trigger the elicitation
process. The models used at this stage include ER diagrams, data flow
diagrams(DFDs), function decomposition diagrams(FDDs), data dictionaries, etc.
Requirements specification is the process of documenting the requirements
identified in the analysis step in a clear, consistent, and unambiguous manner. This
step also involves prioritizing and grouping the requirements into manageable
chunks.
The goal of this step is to create a clear and comprehensive document that describes
the requirements for the software system. This document should be understandable
by both the development team and the stakeholders.
There are several types of requirements that are commonly specified in this
step, including
1. Functional Requirements: These describe what the software system
should do. They specify the functionality that the system must provide,
such as input validation, data storage, and user interface.
2. Non-Functional Requirements: These describe how well the software
system should do it. They specify the quality attributes of the system, such
as performance, reliability, usability, and security.
3. Constraints: These describe any limitations or restrictions that must be
considered when developing the software system.
4. Acceptance Criteria: These describe the conditions that must be met for
the software system to be considered complete and ready for release.
In order to make the requirements specification clear, the requirements should be
written in a natural language and use simple terms, avoiding technical jargon, and
using a consistent format throughout the document. It is also important to use
diagrams, models, and other visual aids to help communicate the requirements
effectively.
Once the requirements are specified, they must be reviewed and validated by the
stakeholders and development team to ensure that they are complete, consistent, and
accurate.
Requirements Verification and Validation
Verification: It refers to the set of tasks that ensures that the software correctly
implements a specific function.
Validation: It refers to a different set of tasks that ensures that the software that has
been built is traceable to customer requirements. If requirements are not validated,
errors in the requirement definitions would propagate to the successive stages
resulting in a lot of modification and rework. The main steps for this process
include:
1. The requirements should be consistent with all the other requirements i.e
no two requirements should conflict with each other.
2. The requirements should be complete in every sense.
3. The requirements should be practically achievable.
Reviews, buddy checks, making test cases, etc. are some of the methods used for
this.
Requirements verification and validation (V&V) is the process of checking that the
requirements for a software system are complete, consistent, and accurate, and that
they meet the needs and expectations of the stakeholders. The goal of V&V is to
ensure that the software system being developed meets the requirements and that it is
developed on time, within budget, and to the required quality.
1. Verification is the process of checking that the requirements are complete,
consistent, and accurate. It involves reviewing the requirements to ensure
that they are clear, testable, and free of errors and inconsistencies. This
can include reviewing the requirements document, models, and diagrams,
and holding meetings and walkthroughs with stakeholders.
2. Validation is the process of checking that the requirements meet the needs
and expectations of the stakeholders. It involves testing the requirements
to ensure that they are valid and that the software system being developed
will meet the needs of the stakeholders. This can include testing the
software system through simulation, testing with prototypes, and testing
with the final version of the software.
3. V&V is an iterative process that occurs throughout the software
development life cycle. It is important to involve stakeholders and the
development team in the V&V process to ensure that the requirements are
thoroughly reviewed and tested.
It’s important to note that V&V is not a one-time process, but it should be integrated
and continue throughout the software development process and even in the
maintenance stage.
Requirements Management
Requirement management is the process of analyzing, documenting, tracking,
prioritizing and agreeing on the requirement and controlling the communication to
relevant stakeholders. This stage takes care of the changing nature of requirements.
It should be ensured that the SRS is as modifiable as possible so as to incorporate
changes in requirements specified by the end users at later stages too. Being able to
modify the software as per requirements in a systematic and controlled manner is an
extremely important part of the requirements engineering process.
Requirements management is the process of managing the requirements throughout
the software development life cycle, including tracking and controlling changes, and
ensuring that the requirements are still valid and relevant. The goal of requirements
management is to ensure that the software system being developed meets the needs
and expectations of the stakeholders and that it is developed on time, within budget,
and to the required quality.
There are several key activities that are involved in requirements management,
including:
1. Tracking and controlling changes: This involves monitoring and
controlling changes to the requirements throughout the development
process, including identifying the source of the change, assessing the
impact of the change, and approving or rejecting the change.
2. Version control: This involves keeping track of different versions of the
requirements document and other related artifacts.
 3. Traceability: This involves linking the requirements to other elements of
the development process, such as design, testing, and validation.
4. Communication: This involves ensuring that the requirements are
communicated effectively to all stakeholders and that any changes or
issues are addressed in a timely manner.
5. Monitoring and reporting: This involves monitoring the progress of the
development process and reporting on the status of the requirements.
Requirements management is a critical step in the software development life cycle as
it helps to ensure that the software system being developed meets the needs and
expectations of stakeholders, and that it is developed on time, within budget, and to
the required quality. It also helps to prevent scope creep and to ensure that the
requirements are aligned with the project goals.
Advantages and Disadvantages
The advantages and disadvantages of the requirements engineering process in
software engineering include:
Advantages
 Helps ensure that the software being developed meets the needs and
expectations of the stakeholders
 Can help identify potential issues or problems early in the development
process, allowing for adjustments to be made before significant
 Helps ensure that the software is developed in a cost-effective and
efficient manner
 Can improve communication and collaboration between the development
team and stakeholders
 Helps to ensure that the software system meets the needs of all
stakeholders.
 Provides a clear and unambiguous description of the requirements, which
helps to reduce misunderstandings and errors.
 Helps to identify potential conflicts and contradictions in the
requirements, which can be resolved before the software development
process begins.
 Helps to ensure that the software system is delivered on time, within
budget, and to the required quality standards.
 Provides a solid foundation for the development process, which helps to
reduce the risk of failure.
Disadvantages
 Can be time-consuming and costly, particularly if the requirements
gathering process is not well-managed
 Can be difficult to ensure that all stakeholders’ needs and expectations are
taken into account
 Can be challenging to ensure that the requirements are clear, consistent,
and complete
 Changes in requirements can lead to delays and increased costs in the
development process.
 As a best practice, Requirements engineering should be flexible,
adaptable, and should be aligned with the overall project goals.
  It can be time-consuming and expensive, especially if the requirements are
complex.
 It can be difficult to elicit requirements from stakeholders who have
different needs and priorities.
 Requirements may change over time, which can result in delays and
additional costs.
 There may be conflicts between stakeholders, which can be difficult to
resolve.
 It may be challenging to ensure that all stakeholders understand and agree
on the requirements.

Stages in Software Engineering Process
Requirements engineering is a critical process in software engineering that involves
identifying, analyzing, documenting, and managing the requirements of a software
system. The requirements engineering process consists of the following stages:
 Elicitation: In this stage, the requirements are gathered from various
stakeholders such as customers, users, and domain experts. The aim is to
identify the features and functionalities that the software system should
provide.
 Analysis: In this stage, the requirements are analyzed to determine their
feasibility, consistency, and completeness. The aim is to identify any
conflicts or contradictions in the requirements and resolve them.
 Specification: In this stage, the requirements are documented in a clear,
concise, and unambiguous manner. The aim is to provide a detailed
description of the requirements that can be understood by all stakeholders.
 Validation: In this stage, the requirements are reviewed and validated to
ensure that they meet the needs of all stakeholders. The aim is to ensure
that the requirements are accurate, complete, and consistent.
 Management: In this stage, the requirements are managed throughout the
software development lifecycle. The aim is to ensure that any changes or
updates to the requirements are properly documented and communicated
to all stakeholders.
 Effective requirements engineering is crucial to the success of software
development projects. It helps ensure that the software system meets the
needs of all stakeholders and is delivered on time, within budget, and to
the required quality standards.