Social and Technological Issues in Requirements Engineering

The most difficult phase of a typical large-scale software project is establishing which properties the system must have to succeed in the environment in which it will be used. This phase of requirement capture is often the least understood, yet it is the most critical phase of software development. Errors made in this phase are often the most expensive to correct and the hardest to detect. Requirements Engineering: Social and Technical Issues focuses on the relationship between social and technical issues in requirements engineering. The text presents a number of representative positions in recent debates on this issue, ranging fromclassical approaches to those that are more innovative. The book's contributors, among the leaders in the field, view the relationship between the social and the technical in widely different ways, reflecting the ongoing debate about the precise definition and parameters of requirements. The book is divided into two parts. Part 1 examines issues in current requirements engineering methods and practice.
Part 2 details the way in which a particular orientation on the social aspect of the area can increase our understanding of the requirements process and also inform current requirements practice. This book will be essential reading for graduates and advanced undergraduates in software engineering and human[ndash]computer interaction (HCI). It will also be of great relevance to professional software and HCI practitioners, as well as to those involved in the design of CSCW systems.