Understanding the dynamics of requirements process improvement : a new approach

Many software development organizations invest heavily in the requirements engineering process programmes, and with good reason. They fail, however, to maximize a healthy return on investment. This paper explores factors that influence requirements process improvement (RPI) with the aim to explain how the attributes of the underpinning process affect both the quality and associated costs of the requirements specification delivered to the customer. Although several tools and techniques have been proposed and used for RPIs, many lack a systematic approach to RPI or fail to provide RPI teams with the required understanding to assess their effectivity. The authors contend that the developed quality-cost RPI descriptive model is a generic framework, discipline and language for an effective approach to RPI. This descriptive model allows a systematic enquiry that yields explanations and provides RPI stakeholders with a common decision making framework. The descriptive model was validated by practicing process improvement consultants and managers and makes a contribution towards understanding of the quality-cost dynamics of RPI. To address the acknowledged deficiencies of RPI, the authors further suggest a generic RPI model and approach that integrates statistical process control (SPC) into system dynamics (SD). The approach enables RPI teams to steer for a cost-effective and successful RPI.