Title: A group support system process for the definition of software requirements

Authors: Lea Hannola, Kalle Elfvengren, Markku Tuominen

Addresses: Department of Industrial Management, Lappeenranta University of Technology, P.O. Box 20, FI-53851 Lappeenranta, Finland. ' Department of Industrial Management, Lappeenranta University of Technology, P.O. Box 20, FI-53851 Lappeenranta, Finland. ' Department of Industrial Management, Lappeenranta University of Technology, P.O. Box 20, FI-53851 Lappeenranta, Finland

Abstract: The definition of software requirements in the early phases of the software innovation process is considered to be an extremely important and challenging task, as decisions about precisely what will be developed are made during this stage. This paper presents a Group Support System (GSS) process for the definition of software requirements, and studies the usability of a GSS as a tool for requirements definition. The developed process was validated in a telecommunications company, and the study shows that requirements definition was expedited and more effective with the GSS-supported process compared to the traditional methods used in the case company.

Keywords: software innovation; software development; requirements definition; process improvement; learning; group support systems; GSS; telecommunications industry.

DOI: 10.1504/IJIL.2010.030612

International Journal of Innovation and Learning, 2010 Vol.7 No.2, pp.171 - 186

Published online: 26 Dec 2009 *

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