• Unit 4: Software Requirements Gathering

    Requirements gathering requires the software engineer (in this case, a business analyst) to interact with the stakeholders, including customer and users,to gather/collect information about what the software system being developed needs to do. There is also the situation where vendors are subcontracted to develop all, or some components, of the software systems and/or develop the hardware that the software will run on. In this case, the vendors bid on the subcontract by providing a proposal in response to a request for proposals. In this unit, you will learn the data/information types, data collection techniques, and data collection and application types.

    Completing this unit should take you approximately 2 hours.

    • Upon successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

      • choose data types;
      • interpret data/requirements gathering techniques;
      • compare and contrast data gathering techniques most appropriate for each application type; and
      • create request for proposal and evaluation of proposal regarding hardware and software.

    • 4.1: Data Types

      • Sue Conger's "The New Software Engineering" File

        Read "Chapter 4: Data Collection/Gathering for Application Development” (pages 83-87) about data types.

        There are different data dimensions, including time and volume. Each dimension is important in defining requirements of applications because it gives guidance to the software engineer about how much and what type of information should be collected. Take your time in reading and jot down any ideas or notes that stand out to you as particularly useful (or, conversely, confusing).

    • 4.2: Requirements/Data Gathering Techniques

      • Sue Conger's "The New Software Engineering" File

        Read "Chapter 4: Data Gathering for Application Development” (pages 87-98).

        Data collection/gathering is also referred to as requirements gathering. Data gathering is the interaction between the software engineer (in this case a business analyst) and the customers (including users) to obtain/gather data/information about the application to be developed. There are many techniques for gathering data. The data collection techniques include interviews, meetings, observations, questionnaires, reviewing software, reviewing internal document, and reviewing external documents.Take your time in reading and jot down any ideas or notes that stand out to you as particularly useful (or, conversely, confusing).

    • 4.3: Data Collection Techniques and Application Types

      • Sue Conger's "The New Software Engineering" File

        Read "Chapter 4: Data Gathering for Application Development" (pages 98-102) about data collection techniques and application types. Take your time in reading and jot down any ideas or notes that stand out to you as particularly useful (or, conversely, confusing).

    • Unit 4 Assessment

      • Unit 4 Assessment Quiz

        Take this assessment to see how well you understood this unit.

        • This assessment does not count towards your grade. It is just for practice!
        • You will see the correct answers when you submit your answers. Use this to help you study for the final exam!
        • You can take this assessment as many times as you want, whenever you want.