Page 18 - Software and Systems Requirements Engineering in Practice

Industrial Foreword

he last decade has seen a great deal of attention paid to
requirements engineering by researchers, teachers, consultants,
Tmanagers, and practitioners. Increasingly, people within
information technology, commercial product development, services
industries, nonprofits, government, and beyond regard good
requirements as a key to project and product success. Requirements
methods and practices are common subject matter for conferences,
books, and classes. The business case for requirements is clear. It is in
a sense a golden age for requirements.
So why then another book on the topic?
There is evidence from many sources to suggest that requirements
engineering is not gaining much ground on the underlying problems
of excessive rework, persistent scope creep, and finished products
that fail to meet user expectations. So, despite the large investment
made and the hard work done to this point, challenges still exist with
regard to ever-increasing product complexity, time-to-market
pressures, market segmentation, and globally diverse users.
It is here that books from practitioners, such as Software & Systems
Requirements Engineering: In Practice, make a valuable contribution.
Unlike most consultants and researchers, practitioners are deeply
involved with individual projects. Moreover, they are present
throughout the project and into the next one. In books from
practitioners, we can see a set of requirements practices and the
underlying setting; a detailed description of the philosophy and
environment in which those practices work.
So, rather than being a compendium of possible practices, or a
generic reference book, Software & Systems Requirements Engineering:
In Practice provides readers a particular view into the world of product
development and applied requirements engineering. Such windows
provide a coherent and useful picture of requirements engineering.
For most practitioners, locating potential solutions to
requirements engineering challenges is only part of the battle. When
a method or practice is being considered for use, the question
becomes “Will this work for me?” Understanding the experiences of

xvii