Communicating requirements using end-user GUI constructions with argumentation

Abstract

Unsuccessful communication is often at the root of inadequate requirements specification according to C. Potts et al. (1994). This can lead to requirements that do not capture complete stakeholder expectations. Stakeholders can include managers, software engineers, end-users, clients, etc. End-users provide a rich source of information about a system as they will directly interact with the final system. They also tend to have a solid knowledge of the domain including the tasks being automated. Thus, a major goal early in the software engineering process is gathering meaningful requirements from end-users. This paper explores the use of mock end-user graphical interface construction supplemented with textual argumentation as a means of communicating software requirements information to software requirements analysts and providing automated assistance for requirements analysts examining this information.