Agile Requirements Engineering in a Distributed Environment: Experiences from the Software Industry During Unprecedented Global Challenges.
Abstract
Unprecedented global challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic necessitated a widespread transition to Work-From-Home (WFH) arrangements for project teams, posing significant challenges in conveying requirements within agile Requirements Engineering (RE). While numerous studies have examined the impact of transitioning work routines during the pandemic, limited research exists on the specific challenges of agile RE operating within the WFH context. Given the pervasive shift in the software development ecosystem worldwide, where WFH is projected to persist even in the post-COVID era, it is imperative to ascertain the challenges associated with WFH-based agile RE. During the pandemic, we collaborated with startups to conduct an industry-academia project. By adopting the methodology of action research, this study comprehensively analyzed agile RE practices and reported the key challenges encountered within the WFH context. To mitigate these challenges, several collaborative RE techniques were employed in three intervention cycles. Interviews were conducted to thoroughly analyze the results. This study also provides insights into collaborative RE techniques and valuable lessons learned. Considering the increasing prevalence of WFH as a working mode in the post-pandemic era, this study equips the community with practical strategies to navigate agile RE challenges and better prepare for unprecedented challenges in the future. Index Terms-Agile requirements engineering challenges, Work from home, Software startup, Action research I. I NTRODUCTION Requirements Engineering (RE) serves as the fundamental cornerstone of the software development process, providing the basis for effort management, architectural design, development framework construction, and definition of testing strategy. The quality of requirement pertains to the specific attributes of requirements that contribute to the successful and cost-effective realization of a system, addressing the user's needs [1, 2]. 2836-3795/24/$31.00 ©2024 IEEE DOI 10.1109/COMPSAC61105.2024.00098 682 Authorized licensed use limited to: Wageningen UR. Downloaded on October 21,2024 at 13:23:02 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions