Engaging Stakeholders in Scenario-Based Requirements Engineering with Gamification

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the effectiveness of gamification in requirements engineering in order to improve stakeholder engagement. We developed an online digital platform for scenariobased RE supported with gamification. Derived from an in-depth literature study, we selected user stories complemented with scenarios from behavior-driven development (BDD) as a method to express stakeholder requirements. Points, badges and leaderboards (PBL) are very common game elements in terms of gamification and are used as a starting point for the gamified platform. In total, the RE eliciation system consists of 17 different game mechanics and elements, which intension is to positively affect intrinsic and extrinsic stakeholder motivation. Subsequently, the gamified platform is tested in a controlled experiment. The findings demonstrate that it is possible to effectively change stakeholder’s behavior with gamification. Stakeholders who are influenced by gamification produce more requirements, with better quality and more creativity. The majority of their user stories consist of attractive requirements that enhance customer satisfaction. Derived from the results we agree that competitive game elements are advantageous for RE elicitation to mitigate collaboration and therefore, prevent production blocking. In sharp contrast, social game elements are favorable for RE analysis, specification and validation where cooperation is demanded.