Software Requirements: Closing The User-Developer Gap

Abstract

This book begins by considering the well documented, but not so well understood problem in Information Systems research that poor system usability is caused, at least in part, by not getting the system requirements right. It will explore the proposition that employing a technical writer as a facilitator in the requirements analysis process may lead to improved system usability, by helping to bridge the cultural gap between users and developers that research has suggested, may be the cause of problems in eliciting user requirements. It seeks to better understand the nature of the gap that apparently exists between users and developers that prevents the parties from communicating clearly and fully enough during the requirements analysis phase of systems development.

With a better understanding of the gap, this work examines whether having a technical writer act as a facilitator of communication might lead to better communication, with the result that a more comprehensive understanding of the user's real needs is derived. The technical writer appears to be well suited to this role because they understand technical issues, and routinely translate technical language into everyday language that nontechnical people can understand.