Achieving effective communication during requirements elicitation - A conceptual framework

Abstract

Requirements elicitation is one of the most important and critical phase in software development. It is the moment in which the users' needs of a software system are captured, understood and validated. This is achieved through two-way communications between users and requirement analysts. The process however is not so straightforward to accomplish. The problem of poor communication among requirement analysts and users exists since both parties are different in many ways besides the environment in which the process happens. They face significant challenges to achieve common understandings and agreements on requirements. This paper discusses the contributing factors that affect communications between both parties during requirements elicitation phase. The factors were identified through reviews of related work. The data were analysed through content analysis. The collated factors form a conceptual framework of effective communication activity for requirements elicitation process. The aim of the framework is to ensure the produced requirements are comprehensible and thus leads to the production of a software system that satisfies its intended users. © 2011 Springer-Verlag.