The Requirements Problem

Chapter 1
Prepared by Dr. Hayfa Abu Addous

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What is a Requirement?
 Websters’ Dictionary: something required, wanted or
needed.
 There is a difference between wanted and needed.
 Needed: Something you have to have.
 Wanted: Something you would like to have.

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What is a Software Requirement?
 Software capability needed by the user to solve a
problem to achieve an objective [Dorfman].

 System Requirements define what the system is

required to do and the constraints under which it is
required to operate [Sommerville].

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What is a Software Requirement? Cont.,

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What is a Software Requirement? Cont.,

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Sources of Requirements

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Goal of software development
 Goal of software development is to develop quality
software–on time and on budget–that meets customer’s
real needs

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Standish Group Research
 Research paper at:
 http://www.standishgroup.com/sample_research/chaos_1994_1
.php
(1994)
 31.1% of project get canceled before they ever get started
 52.7% of projects will cost 189% of their original estimates
 The failure to produce reliable software to handle baggage at
the new Denver airport is costing the city $1.1 million per day
 16.2% of software projects are completed on-time and on-
budget

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IT executive managers on their opinions about why
projects succeed
Project Success Factors % of Responses
1. User Involvement 15.9%
2. Executive Management Support 13.9%
3. Clear Statement of Requirements 13.0%
4. Proper Planning 9.6%
5. Realistic Expectations 8.2%
6. Smaller Project Milestones 7.7%
7. Competent Staff 7.2%
8. Ownership 5.3%
9. Clear Vision & Objectives 2.9%
10. Hard-Working, Focused Staff 2.4%
Other 13.9%
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IT executive managers on their opinions about why
projects are challenged

Project Challenged Factors % of Responses

1. Lack of User Input 12.8%
2. Incomplete Requirements & Specifications 12.3%
3. Changing Requirements & Specifications 11.8%
4. Lack of Executive Support 7.5%
5. Technology Incompetence 7.0%
6. Lack of Resources 6.4%
7. Unrealistic Expectations 5.9%
8. Unclear Objectives 5.3%
9. Unrealistic Time Frames 4.3%
10. New Technology 3.7%
Other 23.0% 11
Causes of Project Success and Failures

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 Relative Cost to Repair a Defect at Different Life
Cycle Phases
.1-.2 Requirement Time(Analysis)
Unit cost of 1 is
assigned to effort
required to detect
and repair an error .5 Design
during the coding
stage, then the cost
to detect and repair 1 Coding
during the
requirements stage is
5 to 10 times less 2 Unit Test

5 Acceptance Test

20 Maintenance
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Cost of Requirements Errors

(The Most expensive errors)

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Cost of Requirements Errors, Cont.,

(discovered during design)

(discovered during testing)

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Cost of Requirements Errors- Defect
Leakage

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Cost of Requirements Errors- Defect
Leakage, Cont.,

 That is, the formal phase during which customers and

systems analysts discuss, brainstorm, negotiate, and
document the project requirements.
 That's the ideal time and place to discover such errors,
and it's likely to be the most inexpensive time and place.

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Cost of Requirements Errors- Defect
Leakage, Cont.,

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Cost of Requirements Errors- Defect
Leakage, Cont.,
 Thus, depending on when and where a defect is
discovered in a software application development
project, we're likely to experience the effect of 50–100
times cost.

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Cost of Requirements Errors- Defect
Leakage, Cont.,
The reason is that in order to repair the defect, we are likely
to experience costs in some or all of the following areas:

Respecification.
Redesign.
Recoding.
Retesting.
Change orders (telling users and operators to replace a
defective version of the system with the corrected version).

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Cost of Requirements Errors- Defect
Leakage, Cont.,
 Scrap (including code, design, and test cases that were
carried out with the best of intentions but then had to be
thrown away when it became clear they were based on
incorrect requirements).
 Recall of defective versions of shrink-wrapped
software(commercial/ off-the-shelf) and associated
manuals from users. (Since software is now embedded in
products ranging from digital wristwatches to microwave
ovens to automobiles, the recall could include both
tangible products and the software embedded within
them.)
 Warranty costs.

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Cost of Requirements Errors- Defect
Leakage, Cont.,
 Product liability (if the customer sues for damages
caused by the defective software).
 Service costs for a company representative to visit a
customer's field location to reinstall the new software.
 Documentation.

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Key Points

 Goal of software development is to develop quality

software–on time and on budget–that meets customer’s
real needs
 Project success depends on effective requirements
management
 Requirements error are the most common type of
systems development errors and the most costly to fix
 A few key skills can significantly reduce requirements
errors and thus improve software quality

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