A knowledge management perspective of requirements engineering

A well-known problem in requirements engineering is the communication between stakeholders with different background. This communication problem is mostly attributed to the different “languages” spoken by these stakeholders based on their different background and domain knowledge. We experienced a related problem involved with transferring and sharing such knowledge, when stakeholders are reluctant to do this. So, we take a knowledge management perspective of requirements engineering and carry over ideas for the sharing of knowledge about requirements and the domain. We cast requirements engineering as a knowledge management process and adopt the concept of the spiral of knowledge involving transformations from tacit to explicit knowledge, and vice versa. In the context of a real-world problem, we found the concept of “knowledge holders” and their relations to categories of requirements and domain knowledge both useful and important. This project was close to become a failure until knowledge transfer has been intensified. The knowledge management perspective provided insights for explaining improved knowledge exchange.