Improving Requirements Generation Thoroughness in User-Centered Workshops: The Role of Prompting and Shared User Stories

The rise of stakeholder centered software development has led to organizations engaging users early in the development process to help define system requirements. To facilitate user involvement in the requirements elicitation process, companies can use Group Support Systems (GSS) to conduct requirements elicitation workshops. The effectiveness of these workshops for generating a valuable set of requirements for system developers has been previously demonstrated. However, a more representative measure of progress towards a system that will meet users’ needs-- the completeness of the requirements generated by such groups has not been explored. We explore two process design considerations for increasing the completeness of requirements generated by these users: increased sharing of user stories (individual electronic brainstorming groups vs. shared user stories electronic brainstorming groups), and the use of reflective inducement prompts (unprompted vs. prompted groups). Using the Search for Ideas in Active Memory model, we predict that prompted electronic brainstorming groups will outperform any other group, including prompted, shared user stories groups at generating a more thorough set of requirements. To test the hypotheses an experiment with 56 groups consisting of 197 users was conducted. The users were asked to generate requirements for a fictitious online textbook exchange website. All hypotheses received support. The study has implications for GSS-Supported workshop design and for future research on collaborative performance in requirements elicitation

Evaluating design criteria for high hazard dams in a changing climate

With changes in climate, there is the potential for future flooding events to vary in frequency and magnitude. These changes may stress the 432 high hazard dames in West Virginia. The 100-year flowrate is an important design criterion for emergency spillways of high hazard dams. Emergency spillways are designed to be reached only by 100-year flow and above. This work quantified how changes in the 100-year flowrate may affect emergency spillway activation. Peakflow data from the Central Appalachian Ecoregion in WV, taken from 24 USGS gages, were used to analyze changes in the 100-year flowrate. Flow frequency analysis revealed that for unregulated gages, 100-year flow consistently increased, but for regulated gages, 100-year flow consistently decreased. Reservoir routing was completed at a high hazard dam in Greenbrier County under potential future flow scenarios altering peak inflow (-7%, +6%, +12%, +20%, and +30%). The spillway of the dam was predicted to be reached by approximately a 12% increase in 100-year flow, which was matched and exceeded by historical increases in 100-year flow from unregulated gages of up to 19%. These results suggest that emergency spillway designs need to consider potential changes in 100-year flow

Describing Agile Requirements Development and Communication using Complex Adaptive Systems Theory

Agile software development methods help software development teams respond to changing requirements. Fundamental to this ability to respond to change is the manner in which requirements are communicated and developed. The question of agile requirements development is considered through the lens of Complex Adaptive Systems theory, a theory used to explain agility in software development teams. A case study of the communication and development of requirements in a software development team is reported, where the three dimensions of CAS Theory described by Vidgen and Colleagues (Vidgen and Wang 2009) are adapted to describe requirements communication and development practices in greater detail. We find that this focus on requirements practices can further explain increases in a software team’s agility

Characterization of the Small RNA Transcriptome of the Marine Coccolithophorid, Emiliania huxleyi

Small RNAs (smRNAs) control a variety of cellular processes by silencing target genes at the transcriptional or post-transcription level. While extensively studied in plants, relatively little is known about smRNAs and their targets in marine phytoplankton, such as Emiliania huxleyi (E. huxleyi). Deep sequencing was performed of smRNAs extracted at different time points as E. huxleyi cells transition from logarithmic to stationary phase growth in batch culture. Computational analyses predicted 18 E. huxleyi specific miRNAs. The 18 miRNA candidates and their precursors vary in length (18-24 nt and 71-252 nt, respectively), genome copy number (3-1,459), and the number of genes targeted (2-107). Stem-loop real time reverse transcriptase (RT) PCR was used to validate miRNA expression which varied by nearly three orders of magnitude when growth slows and cells enter stationary phase. Stem-loop RT PCR was also used to examine the expression profiles of miRNA in calcifying and non-calcifying cultures, and a small subset was found to be differentially expressed when nutrients become limiting and calcification is enhanced. In addition to miRNAs, endogenous small RNAs such as ra-siRNAs, ta-siRNAs, nat-siRNAs, and piwiRNAs were predicted along with the machinery for the biogenesis and processing of si-RNAs. This study is the first genome-wide investigation smRNAs pathways in E. huxleyi. Results provide new insights into the importance of smRNAs in regulating aspects of physiological growth and adaptation in marine phytoplankton and further challenge the notion that smRNAs evolved with multicellularity, expanding our perspective of these ancient regulatory pathways

Generating User Stories in Groups

User stories allow customers to easily communicate desired specifications as part of Agile Software Development methods. When elicited from groups instead of individuals, the number of stories generated and the comprehensiveness of the stories is likely to increase. We present a 2 X 2 study design involving group vs. individual user story brainstorming with one or two sentence vs. unlimited user story length

Generating User Stories in Groups with Prompts

Communicating about system requirements with user stories is a distinctive feature of Agile Software Development methods. While user stories make system requirements intelligible to both customers and technical developers, they also create new challenges for the requirements elicitation process such as personal bias and requirements coverage. In this study we propose that when elicited from groups instead of individuals, and with prompts, the number of stories generated and comprehensiveness of the stories is likely to increase. A lab experiment was conducted to examine these hypotheses is delineated in this paper. We found that prompting significantly increased the number of user stories generated as well as the comprehensiveness of the stories generated. We did not find a difference in user stories generated or comprehensiveness of stories generated by groups and individuals

An Empirical Scenario for the Evaluation of Requirements Elicitation Tasks

While requirements elicitation has been established as a crucial phase of the systems development process, empirical research on the topic of requirements elicitation is sparse. In this paper we present a requirements elicitation scenario that can be used by researchers to evaluate different methods of eliciting a set of requirements. This scenario consists of an elicitation tasks, a system features set, and a coding method. The task revolves around the generation of a set of features for an online student textbook exchange. Such a system is likely to be familiar to students. We present a set of criteria to assess the quality of a requirements elicitation scenario and provide support from our experience using the scenario