A Dimension-Oriented Theory of Requirements Space in Business Information Systems

Low process predictability and, consequently, excessive rework are salient characteristics in many of today’s commonly-used software development life cycle processes, making it exceedingly difficult for development organizations to deliver quality software systems within economically and technically reasonable frames. This paper advances the argument that, as a solution to this problem, building software engineering theories provides a fruitful avenue to increasing the predictability of the various software life cycle processes. Accordingly, we introduce a reusable process design methodology that relies on building software engineering theories with predictive power to inform the design of more predictive and, therefore, effective software processes. The usefulness of the proposed methodology is demonstrated through an expansive case study, which aims to design a more effective requirements engineering method for the domain of business information systems. We report results from several empirical studies to support the arguments put forward in this paper. Key–Words: Requirements Engineering, Theory Building, Process Design, Dimension Orientation, Business Information System, Domain Engineering