期刊名称:Issues in Informing Science and Information Technology
印刷版ISSN:1547-5840
电子版ISSN:1547-5867
出版年度:2008
卷号:5
页码:543-551
出版社:Informing Science Institute
摘要:In this paper we show that interviews between IT consultants and clients are considered best practice
in terms of methods for eliciting IS requirements as part of IS development projects. The
process of conducting successful conversations with clients as part of requirements elicitation
interviews is not well understood. The paper reports a literature survey which established current
understanding. To date this understanding has been achieved through research which: considered
conversations as black boxes; proposed and implemented treatments to be applied by consultants;
and then measured the quality and quantity of the requirements elicited. The treatments have not
been successful as poor requirements elicitation continues to be a major problem in IS development.
Our analysis of current understanding indicated that consultants’ experiences of the nature
of conversations with clients and approach to conducting conversations have not been studied. It
would seem imperative to look inside the black box of consultants’ experiences of conducting
conversations with clients if improvements to the outcomes of requirements elicitation are to be
made. A study is proposed which aims to examine variation in how consultants experience requirements
elicitation conversations. Through analyzing the variation in the light of current best
practice it is aimed to identify the critical aspects of successfully conceived and conducted conversations.
These critical aspects can then be used in IS education and practitioner training programs.