East Tennessee State University Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University Electronic Theses and Dissertations Student Works 5-2013 An Investigation of the Impact of Requirements Engineering Skills on Project Success Cynthia Atkins East Tennessee State University Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.etsu.edu/etd Part of the Operational Research Commons Recommended Citation Atkins, Cynthia, "An Investigation of the Impact of Requirements Engineering Skills on Project Success" (2013). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 1515. https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/1515 This Thesis - Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Works at Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. An Investigation of the Impact of Requirements Engineering Skills on Project Success ---------------- A thesis presented to the faculty of the Department of Computer and Information Sciences East Tennessee State University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Science in Computer Science ---------------- by Cynthia Atkins May 2013 ---------------- Dr. Tony Pittarese, Co-chair Dr. Phil Pfeiffer, Co-chair Dr. Chris Wallace Keywords: Project Management, Requirements Engineering, Software Engineering, Skills, Qualifications, Experiences ABSTRACT An Investigation of the Impact of Requirements Engineering Skills on Project Success by Cynthia Atkins A survey of project managers and requirements engineers was conducted to determine what skills, qualifications, and experiences were associated with project success. Survey results indicated that projects using Joint Application Development (JAD) sessions, use cases, and prototypes to engineer requirements were most successful. Other indicators of project success, according to participants, included an adequate allotment of time for requirements engineering—at least 15% of a project's time— and the use of project managers and requirements engineers with professional work experience. In particular, data indicated that Project Managers with at least five years of experience in Information Technology resulted in more successful projects. 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................................................. 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS .............................................................................................................................................. 3 LIST OF TABLES ......................................................................................................................................................... 6 LIST OF FIGURES ..................................................................................................................................................... 11 1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................................... 14 2. BACKGROUND ..................................................................................................................................................... 18 PROJECTS AND SUCCESS ................................................................................................................................... 18 PROJECT SUCCESS AND REQUIREMENTS QUALITY ............................................................................................ 19 OVERVIEW OF REQUIREMENTS ENGINEERING .................................................................................................. 20 REQUIREMENTS ENGINEERING: BEST PRACTICES ............................................................................................ 23 REQUIREMENTS ENGINEERING: KEY SKILLS .................................................................................................... 24 CERTIFICATIONS RELATED TO REQUIREMENTS ENGINEERING .......................................................................... 27 3. RESEARCH PLAN ................................................................................................................................................. 30 PURPOSE ........................................................................................................................................................... 30 METHODOLOGY ................................................................................................................................................ 31 TARGET AUDIENCE ........................................................................................................................................... 32 PARTICIPANTS ................................................................................................................................................... 33 SURVEY COLLECTION, CODING AND ANALYSIS ................................................................................................ 37 4. ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION ........................................................................................................................... 38 PM1 / RE1: How many years have you been in the professional work force? ............................................ 38 PM2 / RE2: How many years have you worked in Information Technology? ............................................. 44 PM3: How many years have you been in a project management role? ....................................................... 53 RE3: How many years have you been in a requirements analyst role? ....................................................... 55 3 PM6 / RE6: What positions have you held during your career (select all that apply)? ............................. 57 PM7 / RE7: What is the highest academic degree you have received? ....................................................... 63 PM8 / RE8: What best describes your education background (if you’ve studied more than one area, choose the field where you have spent the most time or effort)? ............................................. 69 PM10 / RE9: Do you hold any of the following certifications (choose all that apply)? .............................. 75 PM12 / RE15: Did you have domain expertise when the project began? .................................................... 79 PM22 / RE25: What software development methodologies were used on the project (select all that apply)? ..................................................................................................................................... 85 PM25 / RE27: What percent of the overall project time was devoted to gathering requirements? ............ 88 RE28: How adequate was the amount of time planned for requirements gathering on the project? ......... 96 PM30 / RE29: Were any formal methods for gathering requirements followed on the project? ................ 98 PM31 / RE30: Were any of the following techniques used to gather requirements on the project (select all that apply)? ....................................................................................................................... 101 PM32 / RE31: Briefly, what do you think was most beneficial to the success of the project (optional)? . 103 PM33 / RE32: Briefly, what do you think was most detrimental to the project (optional)? ..................... 104 PM10 / RE9 and PM31 / RE30: Does having a certification lead to more formal requirements analysis? ................................................................................................................................ 105 5. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FUTURE WORK .......................................................... 108 CONCLUSIONS ................................................................................................................................................. 108 FUTURE WORK ............................................................................................................................................... 113 REFERENCES .......................................................................................................................................................... 115 APPENDICES ........................................................................................................................................................... 118 APPENDIX A: PROJECT MANAGER SURVEY .................................................................................................... 118 APPENDIX B: REQUIREMENTS ANALYST, BUSINESS ANALYST, OR REQUIREMENTS ENGINEER SURVEY ........ 125 APPENDIX C: ADDITIONAL ANALYSIS OF EXPERIENCES, SKILLS, AND QUALIFICATIONS ................................ 131 PM4 / RE4: How many total projects have you worked on in Information Technology? ......................... 131 PM5: How many total projects have you managed in Information Technology? ..................................... 137 4 RE5: How many projects have you served in the requirements gathering role? ....................................... 140 PM9: Do you have a degree in Project Management? ............................................................................. 142 PM23: How was the project team assembled? .......................................................................................... 144 PM24 / RE26: Who was tasked with gathering requirements for