Home   >   CSC-OpenAccess Library   >    Manuscript Information
Requirements Engineering: An Industrial Survey In The Gulf Cooperation Council Countries
Asaad Alzayed
Pages - 1 - 26     |    Revised - 31-01-2021     |    Published - 28-02-2021
Volume - 9   Issue - 1    |    Publication Date - February 28, 2021  Table of Contents
MORE INFORMATION
KEYWORDS
Requirements Engineering, Gulf Cooperation Council, Requirements Engineering Practices, Project Success, Software Projects.
ABSTRACT
Studies on requirements engineering (RE) explicitly focusing on the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) have been scarce despite significant global attention. GCC-specific RE research studies are needed because of the unique cultural characteristics and common work ethics prevalent in GCC countries, as these countries get integrated with the globalization of software development. This study compares the state of RE practices within the six countries of the GCC, namely, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Oman, using six RE factors in order to assess whether: (1) the requirements were gathered by a particular method; (2) they were complete and accurate at the start of the project; (3) they were completed adequately; (4) the scope of the project was clearly defined; (5) the size of the project negatively affects requirements elicitation and (6) the customers and users made adequate time available for requirement gathering. Among the 163 software practitioners in the GCC countries surveyed, the results show that the RE practices are relatively similar among the six countries with only subtle differences. Initiating software-related projects with unclear requirements and undefined project scopes are the two major limitations of the RE practices among the survey participants. The results of this study contribute toward providing project managers and system analysts who are working globally and within the GCC countries with valuable decision-making tools to help them consider the identified RE techniques, methods, challenges, and their related risks, early in their software development projects.
1 Google Scholar 
2 Semantic Scholar 
3 refSeek 
4 BibSonomy 
5 J-Gate 
6 Scribd 
7 SlideShare 
A. A. Khan, J. Keung, M. Niazi, S. Hussain, & A. Ahmad, . “Systematic literature review and empirical investigation of barriers to process improvement in global software development: Client–vendor perspective”. Information and Software Technology, vol. 87, pp. 180-205. 2017.
A. Alzayed, J. Verner “A Survey on the State of Practice of Requirements Engineering in GCC Countries.” Journal of Convergence Information Technology vol.14, Iss. 1, pp. 91-99. 2019.
A. Bennaceur, T. T. Tun, Y. Yu & B. Nuseibeh. “Requirements Engineering”. In Handbook of Software Engineering. pp. 51-92. Springer, Cham. 2019.
A. Chakraborty, M. K. Baowaly, A. Arefin, A. N. Bahar. “The Role of Requirements Engineering in Software Development Life Cycle.” Journal of Emerging Trends in Computing and Information Sciences, vol. 3, Iss. 5, pp. 723-729. 2012.
A. De Castellarnau. “A Classification of Response Scale Characteristics That Affect Data Quality: A Literature Review”. Quality & Quantity, vol. 52, no.: 4, pp.1523-1559. 2018. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11135-017-0533-4.
A. Sadig and A. Sahraoui. “Culture Effect on Requirements Elicitation Practice in Developing Countries.” International Journal of Software Engineering & Applications (IJSEA), Vol.8, no.1, , pp. 49-58. 2017.
B. Komal, U. I. Janjua, F. Anwar, T. M. Madni, M. F. Cheema, M. N. Malik, & A. R. Shahid, . “The Impact of Scope Creep on Project Success: An Empirical Investigation”. IEEE Access, vol. 8, pp. 125755-125775. 2020.
C. Iriarte, and B. Sussy. "IT projects success factors: a literature review." SciKA-Association for Promotion and Dissemination of Scientific Knowledge (2020).
C. Standing, G. Guilfoyle, C. Lin, P. Love, “The Attribution of Success and Failure in IT Projects”, Ind. Manag. Data Syst., Vol.106, pp.1148-1165, Oct 2006.
D. A. Dillman. “Mail and Internet Surveys: The Total Design Method for Surveys”. Wiley, New York. 2007.
D. Šmite, N. B. Moe, A. Šablis, C. Wohlin. “Software Teams and Their Knowledge Networks in Large-Scale Software Development.” Information and Software Technology, 86, 71-86. 2017.
D. Fernández, et al. “Naming the pain in requirements engineering - contemporary problems, causes, and effects in practice. “ Empirical Software Engineering.vol. 22, Iss. 5, pp. 2298–2338. 2017.
D. Iqbal, A. Abbas, M., Ali, M.U.S. Khan, and R. Nawaz. “Requirement Validation for Embedded Systems in Automotive Industry Through Modeling.” IEEE Access, vol. 8, pp. 8697-8719. 2020.
D. M. Fernández, S. Wagner, M. Kalinowski, A. Schekelmann, A. Tuzcu, T. Conte, ... & R. Prikladnicki, . “Naming the pain in requirements engineering: comparing practices in Brazil and Germany”. IEEE Software, vol.32, no.5, pp.16-23. 2015.
D. M. Fernández, S. Wagner, M. Kalinowski, M. Felderer, P. Mafra, A. Vetrò, A., . . . R. Wieringa, “Naming the Pain in Requirements Engineering. Empirical Software Engineering”, 1-41. 2016. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10664-016-9451-7.
D. Zowghi, C. Coulin. Requirements elicitation: “A survey of techniques, approaches, and tools”. In Engineering and managing software requirements. 2005 (pp. 19-46). Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg.
E. Oz, J. J. Sosik, ”Why Information Systems Projects are Abandoned: A Leadership and Communication Theory and Exploratory Study”, J. Comput. Inform. Syst., Vol.41, pp. 66-77, Feb 2016.
E., Kiotins, M. Unterkalmsteiner & T. Gorschek. “Software engineering in start-up companies: An analysis of 88 experience report. Empir.” Software Eng. vol. 24, pp. 28-102. 2019.
F. Alfaadel, M. Alawairdhi, M. Al-Zyoud. “Success and Failure of IT Projects: A Study in Saudi Arabia.” Proceedings of the 11th WSEAS International Conference on Applied Computer and Applied Computational Science. Rovaniemi, Finland, , pp. 77-82. 2012.
G. Casale, et, al. “Current and Future Challenges of Software Engineering for Services and Applications.” In Cloud Forward, vol. 97, pp. 34-42. 2016.
H. Ferreira Martins, A. Carvalho de Oliveira Junior, E. Dias Canedo, R. A. Dias Kosloski, R. Ávila Paldês & E. Costa Oliveira,. “Design thinking: Challenges for software requirements elicitation”. Information, vol. 10, no. 12, 371. 2019.
I. Nica & Ionescu,.. “Business process modeling. Using Unified Modeling Language to streamline the design of the TO-BE system within a company”. Theoretical & Applied Economics, vol. 27, no.4. 2020.
International Telecommunication Union (ITU), “Measuring the Information Society Report,” vol.1.Geneva,https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Documents/publications/misr2018/MISR-2018-Vol-1-E, 2018. (Accessed on Sept, 26,2020).
J. Glaser,”Management's Role in IT Project Failures”, Healthc. Financ. Manage., Vol. 58, pp. 90-92, Oct. 2004.
J. Jia, and L. F. Capretz, L.F. “Direct and mediating influences of user-developer perception gaps in requirements understanding on user participation”. Requirements Engineering, 23(2), pp.277-290. 2018.
J. Li, , A. Ullah, J. Li, S. Nazir, H. U. Khan, H. Ur Rehman, & A. U. Haq, “Attributes-Based Decision Making for Selection of Requirement Elicitation Techniques Using the Analytic Network Process”. Mathematical Problems in Engineering. vol. 2020, Article ID 2156023, 13 pages, 2020.
J. M. Verner, N. Cerpa, “Australian Software Development: What Software Project Management Practices Lead to Success?”. Proceedings of the 2005 Australian Software Engineering Conference, 2005, pp. 70-77.
J. M., Verner, W. M Evanco. “In-House Software Development: What Software Project Management Practices Lead to Success?.” IEEE Software, vol. 22, Iss. 1, pp. 86-93. 2005.
J. M., Verner, W. M. Evanco. “Australian Software Development: What Software Project Management Practices Lead to Success?.” Proceedings of the 2005 Australian Software Engineering Conference, , pp. 70-77. 2005.
J. P. Mighetti and G. D. S. Hadad. “A Requirements Engineering Process Adapted to Global Software Development,” CLEI Electronic Journal, vol. 19, no. 3, pp. 1–21. 2016.
J. Pereira, N. Cerpa, J. Verner, M. Rivas, J. D. Procaccino. “What Do Software Practitioners Really Think About Project Success: A Cross-Cultural Comparison”. Journal of Systems and Software, vol. 81, no.: 6, pp. 897-907, 2008. ISSN:0164-1212.
J. Rojas and D. Carrizo. “Gap in Requirements Engineering between Scientific Literature and Practice in the Latin American Software Industry.” Interciencia, vol. 42 , Iss. 10, pp. 676-682. 2017.
J. Singer, S. E. Sim, T. C. Lethbridge. “Software Engineering Data Collection for Field Studies.” In: Guide to Advanced Empirical Software Engineering. Springer, London 2008, pp. 9-34. 2008. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-84800.
J. Verner, K. Cox, S. Bleistein, N. Cerpa. “Requirements Engineering and Software Project Success: An Industrial Survey in Australia and the US.” Australasian Journal of Information Systems, vol. 13no.: 1, pp. 225-238. 2005. https://doi.org/10.3127/ajis.v13i1.73.
J.D. Procaccino, J. M. Verner, S. Overmyer, M. E. Darter, “Case Study: Factors for Early Prediction of Software Development Success”, Inform. Software Tech., Vol. 44, pp. 53-62, Jan 2002.
K. Çamoglu, R. Kandemir. “A Survey of Software Requirements Engineering Practices in Turkey.” International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR), Vol. 8, Iss. 7, pp. 255-262. 2019.
K. Matyokurehwa, N. Mavetera, & O. Jokonya, “Requirements engineering techniques: A systematic literature review”. International Journal of Soft Computing and Engineering, vol. 7, no. 1, pp. 14-20. 2017.
K. Rouibah, S. Al-Rafee. “Requirements Engineering Elicitation Methods: A Kuwaiti Empirical Study About Familiarity, Usage and Perceived Value.” Information Management & Computer Security, vol. 17, no. 3, pp.192-217. 2009.
K. Rouibah. “Social Usage of Instant Messaging by Individuals Outside the Workplace in Kuwait: A Structural Equation Model.” Information Technology & People, vol. 21no. 1, pp. 34-68. 2008.
L. Jiang, A. Eberlein, B. H. Far, M. Mousavi. “A Methodology for the Selection of Requirements Engineering Techniques.” Software and Systems Modeling, vol. 7, no. 3, pp. 303-28. 2008.
L. Maciaszek. Requirements analysis and system design. Pearson Education; 2007.
M. A. Abbasi, J. Jabeen, Y. Hafeez, D. Batool, N. Fareen. “Assessment of Requirement Elicitation Tools and Techniques by Various Parameters.” Software Engineering, vol.3, no. 2, pp. 7-11. March 2015.
M. A. Akbar, J. Sang, A. A. Khan, M. Shafiq, S. Hussain, H. Hu,& Xiang, H. Improving the Quality of Software Development Process by Introducing a New Methodology–AZ-Model. IEEE Access, 6, 4811-4823, Dec 2017.
M. Abouzahra. “Causes of Failure in Healthcare IT Projects.” Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Advanced Management Science, vol. 19, pp. 46-50. 2011.
M. Özturan, F. Gürsoy, and B. Çeken. “An empirical analysis on the effects of investment assessment methods on IS/IT project success”. SciKA-Association for Promotion and Dissemination of Scientific Knowledge, 7(4), pp.33-52. 2019.
M. Bezdrob, S. Brkic, and M. Gram. “The pivotal factors of IT projects' success–Insights for the case of organizations from the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina”. International Journal of Information Systems and Project Management, 8(1), pp.23-41. 2020.
M. Kalinowski et al. “Preventing Incomplete/Hidden Requirements: Reflections on Survey Data from Austria and Brazil.” In: Winkler D., Biffl S., Bergsmann J. (eds) Software Quality. The Future of Systems- and Software Development. SWQD 2016. Lecture Notes in Business Information Processing, vol. 238, pp. 63-78, Springer, Cham. 2016. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-27033-3_5.
M. Keil, A. Tiwana & A. Bush, “Reconciling User and Project Manager Perceptions of IT Project Risk: A Delphi Study”, Information Systems Journal, Vol. 12, pp. 103 – 119, Nov 2002. doi: 10.1046/j.1365-2575.2002.00121.x,
M. Mehmood , B. B. Ijaz. “A Review of Requirement Engineering Process Models”. J Archit Eng Tech 7: 215. 2018. DOI: 10.4172/2168-9717.1000215.
M. Molaei, M. Bosch-Rekveldt, & H. Bakker. “Extending the View on Project Performance”. Administrative Sciences, vol.9, no. 3, pp. 65-79. 2019.
M. N. Naguib. "An Integrated Framework to Quantify the Impact of Competency factors on Project Performance." PhD diss., 2020.
M. Ramdhani, D. Maylawati, A. Amin, & H. Aulawi. “Requirements elicitation in software in software engineering”. Int. J. Eng. Technol, vol. 6, Iss. 2, pp.772-775. 2018.
M. Saunders, P. Lewis, A. Thornhill. “Research Methods for Business Students” (5th Ed.). Pearson Education Limited, Edinburgh Gate. 2009.
M. Wozniak, "Sustainable Approach in IT Project Management—Methodology Choice vs. Client Satisfaction." Sustainability 13, no. 3 (2021): 1466. DOI: 10.3390/su13031466.
M.Q. Riaz, B. Maqbool & W. H. Butt, “Customization of requirement engineering best practices for Pakistan software industry”, International Conference on Computing, Mathematics and Engineering Technologies (iCoMET), pp. 1-6, 2018.
M.T.I. Trammell, A. Moulton and S.E. Madnick. “Effects of Funding Fluctuations on Software Development: A System Dynamics Analysis.” Engineering Management Journal, vol. 28, Iss. 2, pp. 71-85. 2016.
N. Cerpa, M. Bardeen, B. Kitchenham, J.M Verner. “Evaluating Logistic Regression Models to Estimate Software Project Outcomes.” Information and SoftwareTechnology, vol. 52, no.: 9, pp. 934-944. 2010.
N. Denhere, T. Hörne, J. A. Van der Poll. “Managing Globally Distributed Software Development Projects Using Virtual Teams: A Middle East Case Study.” In Proceedings of the 2015 Annual Research Conference on South African Institute of Computer Scientists and Information Technologists, no. 12, pp. 1-10. 2015. https://doi.org/10.1145/2815782.2815786.
N. Durmic. "Information Systems Project Success Factors: Literature Review." Journal of Natural Sciences and Engineering vol.2. (2020). DOI: 10.14706/JONSAE2020218.
O. Sievi-Korte, S. Beecham, & I. Richardson. “Challenges and recommended practices for software architecting in global software development”. Information and Software Technology, vol. 106, pp. 234-253. 2019.
P. Bourque, R. E. Fairley, et al. “Guide to the software engineering body of knowledge (SWEBOK):” Version 3.0. IEEE Computer Society Press, Washington, DC, USA. 2014.
Pimchangthong, D., & Boonjing, V. (2017). Effects of risk management practices on IT project success. Management and Production Engineering Review, vol.8, no.1,pp. 30–37. 2017.
Project Management Institute. “PMI Pulse Of The Profession®”. https://www.pmi.org/learning/thought-leadership/pulse/pulse-of-the-profession-2018, 2018. [Accessed 26 Sept 2020].
R. C. Schmidt, K. Lyytinen, M. Keil & P. E. Cule, “Identifying Software Project Risks: An International Delphi Study”, J Manag Inf Syst., Vol. 17. Pp. 5-36. Jan 2015, doi: 10.1080/07421222.2001.11045662,
R. L. Glass, Software Runaways: Lessons Learned from Massive Software Project Failures, NJ: Prentice Hall, pp. 1-288, 1998.
R. Ramingwong,. “A review of requirements engineering processes, problems and models.” International Journal of Engineering Science and Technology 4(6), 2997-3002. 2011.
R. Thakurta, . “Identifying the Motives for User Participation in Information System Projects”. Pacific Asia Journal of the Association for Information Systems, 9(3), p.5. 2017.
S. A. Fricker, R. Grau, A. Zwingli. “Requirements Engineering: Best Practice.” In Requirements Engineering for Digital Health. Springer, pp. 25-46. 2015.
S. Kwon, . “Understanding user participation from the perspective of psychological ownership: The moderating role of social distance”. Computers in Human Behavior, Vol.105, April 2020, 106207. 2020.
S. N. Geethalakshmi, A. Shanmugam. “Success Factors of Software Projects”. In: First International Conference on Knowledge Management for Productivity and Competitiveness, National Productivity Council, India. 2007.
S. Purba, D. Sawh, B. Shah, How to Manage a Successful Software Project Methodologies Techniques Tools, USA: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.,1995.
S. R., Porter, M. E. Whitcomb. “Nonresponse in Student Surveys: The Role of Demographic Engagement and Personality.” Research in Higher Education, vol. 46, no. 2, pp. 127-152. 2005.
S. Wagner et al., “Status Quo in Requirements Engineering: A Theory and a Global Family of Surveys”, ACM Transactions on Software Engineering and Methodology, Article No.: 9, Feb. 2019. https://doi.org/10.1145/3306607.
T. Alsanoosy, M. Spichkova, & J. Harland, “Cultural influences on the requirements engineering process: lessons learned from practice”. 23rd International Conference on Engineering of Complex Computer Systems (ICECCS). 2018, pp. 61-70. IEEE.
T. Alsanoosy, M. Spichkova, J. Harland . “Cultural Influences on Requirements engineering process in the context of Saudi Arabia.” In: Evaluation of Novel Approaches to Software Engineering (ENASE). Vol. 1. Pp. 159-168. 2019. https://doi.org/10.5220/0006770701590168.
T. Ambreen, N. M. Ikram, M. Usman & M. Niazi. “Empirical research in requirements engineering: Trends and opportunities”. Requirements Engineering, vol. 23, no.1, pp. 63–95. 2018.
T. B. Chiyangwa, & E. Mnkandla. “Modelling the critical success factors of agile software development projects in South Africa”. South African Journal of Information Management, vol. 19, no. 1, pp. 1-8. 2017.
T. Clancy. The Standish Group CHAOS Report. Project Smart, [Report No. 8-9]. 2014. https://www.projectsmart.co.uk/white-papers/chaos-report.pdf. [Accessed on May, 19, 2019].
T. K. Perkins, “Knowledge: The Core Problem of Project Failure”, CrossTalk, The J. Def. Software Eng., Vol.19, pp. 13-15, Jun 2006.
T. Thanasankit, B. Corbitt. “Cultural Context and its Impact on Requirements Elicitation in Thailand.” The Electronic Journal of Information Systems in Developing Countries, vol. 1, Iss.1, pp.1-19.2000.
V. Rodriguez Montequin, J. Villanueva Balsera, S. M. Cousillas Fernadez & F. Ortega Fernandez. Exploring project complexity through project failure factors: Analysis of cluster pattern using self-organizing maps. Complexity, pp1-17. 2018.
W. S. Humphrey, “Why Big Software Project Fail: The 12 Key Questions”, CrossTalk, J. Def. Software Eng., Vol. 18, pp. 25-29, Mar 2005.
Z. Jin, “Environment Modeling-based Requirements Engineering for Software Intensive Systems”. Morgan Kaufmann, Oxford. 2018.
Associate Professor Asaad Alzayed
Business College, Computer & Information System Department, Public Authority for Applied Education and Training (PAAET), Almansouriya, 35652 - Kuwait
as.alzayed@paaet.edu.kw


CREATE AUTHOR ACCOUNT
 
LAUNCH YOUR SPECIAL ISSUE
View all special issues >>
 
PUBLICATION VIDEOS