A Validation Study of a Requirements Engineering Artefact Model for Big Data Software Development Projects

摘要

The elicitation, specification, analysis, prioritisation and management of system requirements for large projects are known to be challenging. It involves a number of diverse issues, such as: different types of stakeholders and their needs, relevant application domains, knowing about product and process technologies, regulatory issues, and applicable standards. The advent of "Big Data" and, in turn, the need for software applications involving Big Data, has further complicated requirements engineering (RE). In part, this is due to the lack of clarity in the RE literature and practices on how to treat Big Data and the "V" characteristics in the development of Big Data applications. Traditionally, researchers in the RE field have created domain models that help in understanding the context of the problem, and in supporting communication and analysis in a project. Analogously, for the emerging field of software applications involving Big Data, we propose an empirically derived RE artefact model. It has been validated for qualities such as: accuracy, completeness, usefulness, and generalisability by ten practitioners from Big Data software development projects in industry. The validation results indicate that the model captures the key RE elements and relationships involved in the development of Big Data software applications. The resultant artefact model is anticipated to help in such activities as: requirements elicitation and specification; definition of specific RE processes; customising and creating a common vision in Big Data RE projects; and creating traceability tools linking the artefacts.