The task of finding an optimal selection of requirements for thenext release of a software system is difficult as requirements maydepend on each other in complex ways. The paper presents the resultsfrom an in-depth study of the interdependencies within 5 distinct setsof requirements, each including 20 high-priority requirements of 5distinct products from 5 different companies. The results show that: (1)roughly 20% of the requirements are responsible for 75% of theinterdependencies; (2) only a few requirements are singular; (3)customer-specific bespoke development tend to include morefunctionality- related dependencies whereas market-driven productdevelopment have an emphasis on value-related dependencies. Severalstrategies for reducing the effort needed for identifying and managinginterdependencies are outlined. A technique for visualization ofinterdependencies with the aim of supporting release planning is alsodiscussed. The complexity of requirements interdependency analysis isstudied in relation to metrics of requirements coupling. Finally, anumber of issues for further research are identified
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