SELECTING A REQUIREMENT DETERMINATION METHODOLOGY-CONTINGENCY APPROACH REVISITED

Previous research proposed a contingency approach to selecting a particular requirement determination methodology because of the uncertainty that exists in defining application/organizational information requirements. Recent research has shown that organizations use information to reduce uncertainty, to resolve equivocality, or both. Since the nature of information used to reduce uncertainty is different from that used to resolve equivocality, it is necessary to decide which is needed before starting to design the future system. This paper presents a three step approach to selecting a requirement determination methodology. The first step calls for assessment of the degree of uncertainty and equivocality present in the application. Based on this, an appropriate information acquisition strategy is identified. The third step calls for the selection of RD methodologies that are effective in acquiring the needed information. This approach is illustrated with a set of examples.