Application of cognitive theories and knowledge management to requirements engineering

In this paper, we discuss the systems engineering process during front-end phases, with emphasis on capturing requirements related knowledge by inter-organizational and systems of systems teams. We discuss four dimensions of knowledge identified in the knowledge management literature, and apply them to the capture of requirements related knowledge. We discuss and compare three cognitive theories (Situated Action, Activity Theory, and Distributed Cognition) and examine them with respect to improving system requirements engineering and analysis. We find that research in KM and cognition offers significant ideas and insights for improving the requirements process.