Investigating requirements volatility during software development projects : an empirical study

University of Technology, Sydney. Faculty of Information Technology.Changes to software requirements are inevitable during the development process. Despite advances in software engineering over the past three decades, requirements changes are a source of project risk in software development, particularly when businesses and technologies are evolving rapidly. This so-called requirements volatility has attracted much attention, but its extent and consequences are not well understood. The research literature lacks empirical studies investigating requirements volatility, particularly its underlying causes and consequences, and there are no effective strategies to deal with the associated problems throughout software development. We address these issues with a long-term case study in an industrial software development setting to identify and characterise the causes of requirements volatility, its impacts on the software development process, and the strategies used by current system development practitioners to deal with requirements volatility problems. We analysed requirements change request data from two software project releases, and investigated the organisation's handling of requirements changes. Our data include the change request database, project documents, interviews, observations, and regular discussions with the key informants from the project members. We used a combination of qualitative and quantitative research techniques. We first present a critical review of the literature on requirements volatility issues, from which an analytic synthesis for a currently lacking comprehensive coverage of requirements volatility phenomena is derived. The review clarifies the terms used, the sources and adverse impacts of requirements volatility, and the strategies available to current software development teams. We also provide a detailed description of a repeatable research design that researchers and practitioners could use to conduct similar investigation of requirements volatility in any industry setting. We developed requirements change classifications from the change request data. Project members also classified requirements change requests using a card sorting technique. The resulting categories play a vital role in the empirical analysis of several aspects of requirements volatility. Its extent can be characterised by such classification attributes as the types of change (addition, deletion, and modification), reasons for change, and change origin. The classification is useful in analysing the cost of requirements change in terms of rework or effort required. Based on an empirical analysis using the proposed classification, effective strategies were defined to match organisational needs. The organisation was able to use these results to improve its change control process and its change request form, thereby improving management and reducing the impacts of requirements volatility

A Case Study of the New Elementary School in Kingsport, Tennessee

The statement of the problem was taxpayers and the general populace have expressed dissatisfaction with the current schooling/education results. Influential educators, similarly, have stated their belief(s) that educational practice no longer meets the requirements for production of a competitive citizenry. The purpose of this study was to investigate the process of developing a new elementary school in Kingsport, Tennessee. This study explores the process used by the Kingsport City School System to determine the sequence of analyzing, planning and implementing a new elementary school designed for the twenty-first century. In this qualitative study, four research questions were formulated. A reputational model developed by Becker and Geer identified twelve interviewees for the study. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews, limited participant observations and document analysis. The field effort concentrated on the respondents\u27 perceptions of the process of the development of the new elementary school. Verbatim transcripts, field notes and documents were analyzed using qualitative techniques. Results suggested that there was planned process for developing/designing the new elementary school. During the analysis, twenty events emerged which form the sequence of the planned change for the implementation of the new elementary school. A visionary model of the new elementary school was reported from the three areas of analysis

Lifecycle approach to requirements information management in construction projects: state-of-the-art and future trends

Changes in client requirements are most frequent in construction and are known to contribute to budget over-runs and late delivery of projects. Such changes need to be managed adequately to enhance visibility, traceability and linked to the original requirements and communication with all stakeholders throughout the lifecycle of a facility. Traditionally, requirements management has principally been focused at the early stages of the construction process where elicited client requirements information is used as the basis for design and does not extend to the later phases. A life cycle approach is important because client requirements often change dramatically over a facility’s life. This evolution needs to be understood, for example, particularly if the facility is to be refurbished or adapted for uses other than those for which it was originally designed. This paper presents an empirical study to highlight the current state of managing clients’ requirements and to propose the need for a lifecycle approach to requirements information management in construction projects. An ethnographic study was conducted to examine the requirements management process based on participatory observations of construction project meetings and interviews with project managers. The study also details the state-of-the-art of requirements management by presenting a qualitative review of literature on this topic. This review includes industries other than construction. The paper concludes that currently, with no lifecycle insight, very few informal schemes detail the management of requirements beyond the design process into the later stages of the project. It proposes that the management of requirements should extend beyond elicitation and documentation and requires an approach that will enable changeability and impact analysis, accessibility, traceability and communication to all stakeholders

Requirements for a behaviour change application for alcohol intervention and reduction

Abstract. The goal of this study was to find requirements for a behaviour change application for alcohol intervention and reduction. Motivation for the study comes from a preceding project work that studied a potential system that could be used to monitor and reduce alcohol consumption. The result of this project work suggested utilizing behaviour change theory for creating a mobile application to achieve the desired effect on the user. The study was conducted as a theory driven qualitative research study that gathered information from existing scientific research. The study utilized qualitative semi structured interviews and discussions from an online alcohol support forum for data gathering and analysis. The semi structured interviews were part of the previous project work and were also analysed for this study. Analysis for the forum discussions was done as content analysis. The research found that the application should take advantage of suitable behaviour change techniques such as self-monitoring, having social support features or teaching the user coping skills. It should also maintain user’s engagement by having aesthetic design, being easy to use or by having the option to give feedback on using the application. Further the application could use unique smartphone features to stand out from other digital alcohol support methods. Also, the application should provide evidence of successful behaviour change based on scientific data and be built by using established behaviour change application models. The small number of interviewees was a limitation for this study. Also, using content analysis to get information about people who are actively seeking help for alcohol use was a limiting factor on getting more precise information. In the future a more comprehensive qualitative interview process could be conducted that includes a wide variety of different kinds of potential users

Analytic Tradecraft in the U.S. Intelligence Community

The Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 addressed the belief that weak analytic tradecraft had been an underlying cause of intelligence failures in the U.S. by requiring the Director of National Intelligence to establish and enforce tradecraft standards throughout the U.S. intelligence community (IC). However, analytic tradecraft-the innate abilities and learned skills of intelligence analysts, combined with the tools and technology needed to conduct analysis-is an understudied and poorly understood concept and a decade later, the frequency of intelligence failures has not improved. Using actor-network theory (ANT) as the foundation, the purpose of this qualitative narrative study was to gain greater clarity regarding the process of intelligence analysis and corresponding tradecraft. Data were collected through 7 semi-structured interviews from a purposely selected sample of U.S intelligence analysts to determine how they understood and navigated the analytic process. These data were inductively coded, and following the tenets of the ANT, the process and actors involved in transforming customer requirements and intelligence information into analytic products and refined collection requirements were identified and mapped. The central finding of this study is that current tradecraft standards address neither the full range of activities taking place nor the complete roster of actors involved in the analytic process. With this knowledge, the U.S. IC may be better positioned to identify specific training and equipment shortfalls, develop tailored reform efforts, and improve intelligence operations, resulting in potential positive social change

PROPOSED FRAMEWORK FOR COMPLYING WITH COUNCIL FOR ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS AND CLIMATE CHANGE NEPA GUIDANCE THROUGH AN EXAMINATION OF POLICIES, RESEARCH, AND LITIGATION

The President’s Council on Environmental Quality published final guidance for evaluating climate change through the National Environmental Policy Act process in 2016, yet many federal agencies have demonstrated a lack of understanding on how best to consider the guidance, as substantiated through research and increased litigation. This study revealed two major litigation themes including 1) challenges to agency methodology for evaluating greenhouse gas emissions, and 2) challenges for not quantifying greenhouse gas emissions or for not conducting a meaningful climate change analysis. The objective of this study was to propose an easily referenced approach (framework) for complying with the 2016 guidance. This study involved a review of federal policy, published research, and a detailed examination of relevant Circuit Court and some District Court climate change litigation cases (2010 to 2021). All sources were reviewed for relevancy and whether the source was current. Cases were reviewed to identify major litigation challenge themes. Results revealed that just 9 of 440 federal agencies experienced litigation during the time period reviewed. None of the cases involved categorical exclusions; however, 13 cases (46%) involved Environmental Assessments, and 15 cases (54%) involved Environmental Impact Statements. Ample evidence was found within the guidance and also Executive Order 14008 to aid federal agencies in determining the circumstances requiring climate change analyses. The guidance further advised agencies on two distinct types of climate change analysis requirements with very different expectations and analysis issues, and which is often unmet by agencies; 1) the implications of climate change on a project now and in the future, and 2) the analysis of greenhouse gas emissions. A qualitative analysis was used to develop a proposed framework for complying with the 2016 guidance

Development of a stakeholder identification and analysis method for human factors integration in work system design interventions – Change Agent Infrastructure

In any work system design intervention—for example, a physical workplace redesign, a work process change, or an equipment upgrade—it is often emphasized how important it is to involve stakeholders in the process of analysis and design, to gain their perspectives as input to the development, and ensure their future acceptance of the solution. While the users of an artifact or workplace are most often regarded as being the most important stakeholders in a design intervention, in a work‐system context there may be additional influential stakeholders who influenceand negotiate the design intervention\u27s outcomes, resource allocation, requirements, and implementation. Literature shows that it is uncommon for empirical ergonomics and human factors (EHF) research to apply and report the use of any structured stakeholder identification method at all, leading to ad‐hoc selections of whom to consider important. Conversely, other research fields offer a plethora of stakeholder identification and analysis methods, few of which seem to have been adopted in the EHF context. This article presents the development of a structured method for identification, classification, and qualitative analysis of stakeholders in EHF‐related work system design intervention. It describes the method\u27s EHF-related theoretical underpinnings, lessons learned from four use cases, and the incremental development of the method that has resulted in the current methodprocedure and visualization aids. The method, called Change Agent Infrastructure (abbreviated CHAI), has a mainly macroergonomic purpose, set on increasing the understanding of sociotechnical interactions that create the conditions for work system design intervention, and facilitating participative efforts

Assessing whether rehabilitation programmes from South African mining companies have considered the impacts of climate change

A Research Report submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science. May 2016The fifth report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has a high confidence level that positive radiative forcing due to anthropogenic influences are causing a warming earth surface, and the largest contributor is CO2. Previous research related to mining and climate change, has been inclined to the development of mitigation measures, further addressing how best the mining sector could reduce greenhouse gas emissions which adversely affect the climate system. Minimal research has focused on adaptation measures. The climate - both present and future - is seen as the most vital determinant of rehabilitation success or failure, specifically rainfall patterns and the temperature. Planning for rehabilitation while taking into account climate change, is the first step to enhancing adaptation, allowing successful and resilient rehabilitation. This study aimed to assess whether mining companies operating in South Africa have considered the impacts of climate change on mine rehabilitation. The study achieved this with the use of a qualitative research methodology which included detailed content analysis of documents and transcripts from interviews conducted. From graphical representations of likely future scenarios of climate change, it was identified that all mining companies will be exposed to climate change, thus increasing their vulnerability to future impacts. Secondly, it was identified that only three of the investigated policies and guidelines on closure make a specific mention to climate during the rehabilitation process (MMSD, ITRC and CoM). Through the analysis of Sustainability Reports, it became apparent that climate change issues are prioritised in the selected companies; however, these predominantly transpire as mitigation measures (i.e. energy consumption, GHG emissions and water availability) in response to legal requirements already instituted as well as forthcoming legal frameworks. Only two of the investigated companies have considered climate change during the rehabilitation process of the mine lifecycle. Additionally, the interview process revealed further that climate change is being considered, during the operational phase of the mine lifecycle and the responses are mitigation measures to comply with the legal frameworks. Lastly, from the identified case studies which show how physical climate change impacts can be addressed, an identified trend showed informed decision making by interdisciplinary individuals using credible regional data contributed to some successes. A total of six challenges were identified where after these were seen as strategic components to further catalyse adaptation planning in mine rehabilitation (data sources and management systems, legal framework, collaborations, research and development, funding and sustainability leadership). The findings of this research have created a foundation on which other research, addressing climate change within the South African mining industry, can progress which may further explore the mining company perspective or alternatively the government perspective which was not dealt with thoroughly in this study.M T 201

Як уникнути підйому рівня води?

East Africa’s Lake Victoria provides resources and services to millions of people on the lake’s shores and abroad. In particular, the lake’s fisheries are an important source of protein, employment, and international economic connections for the whole region. Nonetheless, stock dynamics are poorly understood and currently unpredictable. Furthermore, fishery dynamics are intricately connected to other supporting services of the lake as well as to lakeshore societies and economies. Much research has been carried out piecemeal on different aspects of Lake Victoria’s system; e.g., societies, biodiversity, fisheries, and eutrophication. However, to disentangle drivers and dynamics of change in this complex system, we need to put these pieces together and analyze the system as a whole. We did so by first building a qualitative model of the lake’s social-ecological system. We then investigated the model system through a qualitative loop analysis, and finally examined effects of changes on the system state and structure. The model and its contextual analysis allowed us to investigate system-wide chain reactions resulting from disturbances. Importantly, we built a tool that can be used to analyze the cascading effects of management options and establish the requirements for their success. We found that high connectedness of the system at the exploitation level, through fisheries having multiple target stocks, can increase the stocks’ vulnerability to exploitation but reduce society’s vulnerability to variability in individual stocks. We describe how there are multiple pathways to any change in the system, which makes it difficult to identify the root cause of changes but also broadens the management toolkit. Also, we illustrate how nutrient enrichment is not a self-regulating process, and that explicit management is necessary to halt or reverse eutrophication. This model is simple and usable to assess system-wide effects of management policies, and can serve as a paving stone for future quantitative analyses of system dynamics at local scales

The implementation of a new teacher evaluation model: a qualitative case study of how teachers make sense of the Marzano Evaluation Model

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore how teachers understood and changed their instructional practice in response to imposed teacher evaluation requirements. The strategy of inquiry was a single case study, representative of a large suburban high school adapting to the changes required under the provisions of Achieve NJ, the policy mandating new teacher evaluation (Yin, 2009). The theoretical framework of sensemaking and sensegiving guided the analysis of how teachers processed the changes to their evaluation system and the role the context played in the implementation of the MTEM (Weick, 1995, Gioia & Chittipeddi, 1991). Data was collected in the form of archival documents, participant interviews and field notes from observations which produced clear and coherent themes around the implementation of the MTEM. The findings of this study indicate that teachers perceive only incremental shifts in their instructional practice, that they perceive significant barriers to implementation, that a compliance orientation exists towards the MTEM, also that contextual messages influence teacher’s perceptions of the MTEM, and that school leadership acts as capacity builders. In this setting change is framed by a teacher’s experience, and providing support that is context specific, especially for veteran teachers, is critical to the implementation process. Teacher’s resistance to change is also influenced by the context, and supportive leadership designed to mitigate resistance must take into account the contextual factors impacting change