Requirements engineering blinders: Exploring information systems developers black-boxing of the emergent character of requirements

Jonny Holmström, Steven Sawyer

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

31 Scopus citations

Abstract

In this paper we focus empirical and conceptual attention on the social construction of information systems (IS) requirements, and illustrate that IS developers too often choose to ignore, and thus effectively black-box, the complexities of gathering requirements in order to simplify both the difficulties of their work and their relations with customers. The empirical contribution of this paper is evidence drawn from a study of how IS developers pursue requirements engineering and how they conceive its value. The factors we found to be important in this process include: the changing needs of the organization, the ways in which structured IS methods are enacted via experience and social competency, the formation of project groups, and finally engagement in interpersonal conflict and negotiations. Our conceptual contribution is theorization on the nature of developing requirements as a process of social learning.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)34-47
Number of pages14
JournalEuropean Journal of Information Systems
Volume20
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 2011

Keywords

  • information systems development
  • qualitative research
  • requirements engineering
  • social construction of technology
  • social learning

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Management Information Systems
  • Information Systems
  • Information Systems and Management
  • Library and Information Sciences

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