Specification and Analysis of Requirements Negotiation Strategy in Software Ecosystems

The development of software products and systems generally requires collaboration of many individuals, groups, and organizations that form an ecosystem of interdependent stakeholders. The way the interests and expectations of such stakeholders are communicated is critical for whether they are heard, hence whether the stakeholders are successful in influencing future solutions to meet their needs. This paper proposes a model based on negotiation and network theory for analyzing and designing flow of requirements through a software ecosystem. The approach supports requirements engineering process engineers and managers in taking strategic decisions for resolving communication bottlenecks, increasing overall requirements engineering productivity, and consciously assigning power to stakeholders.