Towards dealing with commonly occurring requirements engineering process issues during software development outsourcing

Javed Iqbal; Rodina B Ahmad; Fazal-E- Amin; Muhammad Shoaib; Mohd Hairul Nizam Nasir

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0269607

Towards dealing with commonly occurring requirements engineering process issues during software development outsourcing

PLoS One. 2022 Jul 14;17(7):e0269607. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0269607. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Javed Iqbal¹, Rodina B Ahmad², Fazal-E- Amin³, Muhammad Shoaib⁴, Mohd Hairul Nizam Nasir²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Computer Science, COMSATS University Islamabad, Islamabad, Pakistan.
² Department of Software Engineering, Faculty of Computer Science and Information Technology, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
³ Department of Software Engineering, College of Computer and Information Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
⁴ Department of Information Systems, College of Computer and Information Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Abstract

Due to specific advantages, the volume of Software Development Outsourcing (SDO) is rapidly increasing. Because of challenges arising from the Requirements Engineering (RE) process, the anticipated benefits of SDO are not achieved in case of several projects. The objective of this research work is to recommend RE practices for addressing the commonly arising RE process issues in the case of SDO. For this reason, a thorough literature review has been undertaken, as well as two questionnaire surveys have been performed with skilled SDO industry practitioners. The surveys have been done by utilizing semi-supervised style and employing Convenience Sampling method. The 50 percent rule and a four-point Likert Scale have also been used to determine the advantages of RE practices for dealing with the issues. A comprehensive list of 147 RE practices has been extracted by conducting a Focus Group session. Furthermore, the 147 RE practices have been ranked by applying Numerical Assignment and Hundred Dollar Techniques during two Focus Group sessions. The detection and adaptation of RE practices aids in enhancing the SDO RE process, evading SDO failures, and achieving the associated SDO advantages.

Publication types

Review
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Engineering
Outsourced Services*
Software
Surveys and Questionnaires

Grants and funding

The authors extend their appreciation to the Deanship of Scientific Research at King Saud University for funding this work through research group no. RG-1441-490. The funders had role in data collection and analysis, and preparation of the manuscript.