User participation in requirements negotiation

Abstract

This paper discusses the user involvement in the early phases of the software development life-cycle, specifically in the requirements definition. It argues that designing for product quality means enabling an effective communication and involvement of the user factor in the process of defining the requirements for the system to be developed. It addresses the human dimension and the social interaction of the requirements negotiation, and discusses issues involved in designing groupware for user participation in a remote setting. We believe that groupware should not only give technical support to the modeling of requirements, but also to the group social interaction through which the requirements are captured and negotiated.