Business Process Management Journal, Volume 21, Issue 1, January 2015.
Purpose Requirements engineering and process improvement has been identified as one of the key factors for improving software quality. Despite this, little scholarly work has been done on developing ways to improve the requirements engineering process. The situation of requirements engineering and process improvement is even worse in Small and Medium Enterprises that produce software. Consequently, the quality of software being produced by these companies has kept deteriorating. This study therefore sought to design a framework that will help small and medium software companies improve their requirements engineering processes in order to compete favorably with larger software companies, more especially in terms of software quality. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative research approach was adapted. Four software companies in Uganda were purposively selected to participate in the study. Data were collected using questionnaires. The requirements for designing the framework were gathered and refined from both primary and secondary data. Findings The key requirements for process improvement in small and medium software companies were identifies as user involvement, use of evolutionary requirements engineering process improvement strategy, change management, training and education, management support and commitment. Practical implications The designed framework was validated to ensure that it can be applied in requirements engineering and process improvement in small and medium software companies. Validation results show that the proposed framework is applicable and can be used to improve requirements engineering and process improvement in small and medium software companies. Originality/value The paper presents an improvement of the systematic approach to requirements engineering process improvement by Kabaale and Nabukenya (2011) which is decomposed for easy understanding by non-technical readers and users.
Purpose Requirements engineering and process improvement has been identified as one of the key factors for improving software quality. Despite this, little scholarly work has been done on developing ways to improve the requirements engineering process. The situation of requirements engineering and process improvement is even worse in Small and Medium Enterprises that produce software. Consequently, the quality of software being produced by these companies has kept deteriorating. This study therefore sought to design a framework that will help small and medium software companies improve their requirements engineering processes in order to compete favorably with larger software companies, more especially in terms of software quality. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative research approach was adapted. Four software companies in Uganda were purposively selected to participate in the study. Data were collected using questionnaires. The requirements for designing the framework were gathered and refined from both primary and secondary data. Findings The key requirements for process improvement in small and medium software companies were identifies as user involvement, use of evolutionary requirements engineering process improvement strategy, change management, training and education, management support and commitment. Practical implications The designed framework was validated to ensure that it can be applied in requirements engineering and process improvement in small and medium software companies. Validation results show that the proposed framework is applicable and can be used to improve requirements engineering and process improvement in small and medium software companies. Originality/value The paper presents an improvement of the systematic approach to requirements engineering process improvement by Kabaale and Nabukenya (2011) which is decomposed for easy understanding by non-technical readers and users.
