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Requirements are Slipping Through the Gaps - A Case Study on Causes & Effects of Communication Gaps in Large-Scale Software Development

Bjarnason, Elizabeth LU orcid ; Wnuk, Krzysztof LU and Regnell, Björn LU orcid (2011) 19th IEEE International Requirements Engineering Conference, 2011 p.37-46
Abstract
Communication is essential for software development as its efficiency throughout the entire project life-cycle is a key factor in developing and releasing successful software products to the market. This paper reports on findings from an explanatory case study aiming at a deeper understanding of the causes and effects of communication gaps in a large-scale industrial set up. Based on an assumption of what causes gaps in communication of requirements and what effects such gaps have, a semi-structured interview study

was performed with nine practitioners at a large market-driven software company. We found four main factors that affect the requirements communication, namely scale, temporal aspects,

common views and decision... (More)
Communication is essential for software development as its efficiency throughout the entire project life-cycle is a key factor in developing and releasing successful software products to the market. This paper reports on findings from an explanatory case study aiming at a deeper understanding of the causes and effects of communication gaps in a large-scale industrial set up. Based on an assumption of what causes gaps in communication of requirements and what effects such gaps have, a semi-structured interview study

was performed with nine practitioners at a large market-driven software company. We found four main factors that affect the requirements communication, namely scale, temporal aspects,

common views and decision structures. The results also show that communication gaps lead to failure to meet the customers’ expectations, quality issues and wasted effort. An increased

awareness of these factors is a help in identifying what to address to achieve a more efficient requirements management, and ultimately more efficient and successful software development. By closing the communication gaps the requirements may continue all

the way through the project life-cycle and be more likely to result in software that meets the customers’ expectations. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; and
organization
publishing date
type
Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding
publication status
published
subject
keywords
requirements communication, explanatory case study, large-scale requirements engineering, empirical study
host publication
IEEE International Requirements Engineering Conference
editor
Heymans, Patrick
pages
10 pages
publisher
IEEE - Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.
conference name
19th IEEE International Requirements Engineering Conference, 2011
conference location
Trento, Italy
conference dates
2011-08-29 - 2011-09-02
external identifiers
  • wos:000299167500004
  • scopus:82455163989
project
Embedded Applications Software Engineering
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
d3fb373d-022f-4b39-b8df-0b6a1eb5da61 (old id 2062930)
date added to LUP
2016-04-04 12:25:47
date last changed
2023-09-11 06:14:13
@inproceedings{d3fb373d-022f-4b39-b8df-0b6a1eb5da61,
  abstract     = {{Communication is essential for software development as its efficiency throughout the entire project life-cycle is a key factor in developing and releasing successful software products to the market. This paper reports on findings from an explanatory case study aiming at a deeper understanding of the causes and effects of communication gaps in a large-scale industrial set up. Based on an assumption of what causes gaps in communication of requirements and what effects such gaps have, a semi-structured interview study<br/><br>
was performed with nine practitioners at a large market-driven software company. We found four main factors that affect the requirements communication, namely scale, temporal aspects,<br/><br>
common views and decision structures. The results also show that communication gaps lead to failure to meet the customers’ expectations, quality issues and wasted effort. An increased<br/><br>
awareness of these factors is a help in identifying what to address to achieve a more efficient requirements management, and ultimately more efficient and successful software development. By closing the communication gaps the requirements may continue all<br/><br>
the way through the project life-cycle and be more likely to result in software that meets the customers’ expectations.}},
  author       = {{Bjarnason, Elizabeth and Wnuk, Krzysztof and Regnell, Björn}},
  booktitle    = {{IEEE International Requirements Engineering Conference}},
  editor       = {{Heymans, Patrick}},
  keywords     = {{requirements communication; explanatory case study; large-scale requirements engineering; empirical study}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  pages        = {{37--46}},
  publisher    = {{IEEE - Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.}},
  title        = {{Requirements are Slipping Through the Gaps - A Case Study on Causes & Effects of Communication Gaps in Large-Scale Software Development}},
  url          = {{https://lup.lub.lu.se/search/files/6003012/2295432.pdf}},
  year         = {{2011}},
}