A perspective on human factors contributing to quality requirements: A cross-case analysis

Although formal definitions and processes do exist for requirements engineering, projects are still failing due to the poor quality of requirements. This study investigates this phenomenon, in particular the reasons why high quality requirements cannot be delivered. This paper investigates factors contributing to high quality requirements during two requirements engineering processes in practise. Empirical evidence was collected over a five-year period from two case studies focusing on the requirements engineering process to obtain an in-depth understanding of why the process delivered either good or poor quality requirements. The findings suggest that human factors during the communication process play a significant role towards the quality of requirements. This research provides an alternative view on the factors contributing towards poor quality requirements. The skill of communication allows a requirements engineer to create a trust relationship with customers, and this empowers him to elicit high quality requirements from the users.