Complete thesis - Murdoch University

The first two items indicate a bi-polar distribution: a few respondents learnt a lot about thesetopics, and can be excluded from our consideration. An additional five topics in this list wouldrank higher than the first RE topic (which would therefore rank 18th) in a composite list.Therefore, we can come to the conclusion, albeit indirectly, that there is a flaw in the educationof REs. Despite acknowledgement that it is a ‘surprise’ to graduates that requirementsis a major cause for software deficiencies (Conn, 2002), it has been well documented thatproblems with software development projects include issues relating to both the nature ofRE (eg incompleteness, ambiguity etc (Bell and Thayer, 1998; Johnson, 1994); complexity ofRE and RE process, including contingency issues (Kamsties et al, 1998; Morris et al, 1998;Carroll and Swatman, 1999; Houdek and Pohl, 2000; Hofmann and Lehner, 2001; Zowghiet al, 2001)) and the non-technical skills needed of its practitioners (eg expertise: lack ofskill and training of RE practitioners (Senn, 1978; Lubars et al, 1993; James, 1994; Johnson,1994; Sommerville and Sawyer, 1997; Kamsties et al, 1998; Morris et al, 1998; Nuseibehand Easterbrook, 2000); sensitivity to the environment of the system (Senn, 1978; Lubarset al, 1993; Emam and Madhavji, 1995; Sommerville and Sawyer, 1997; Kamsties et al, 1998;Morris et al, 1998; Nuseibeh and Easterbrook, 2000), and communications (Al-Rawas andEasterbrook, 1996; Zowghi et al, 2001)).Studies also show that while RE topics are included in formal education, practitioners do notconsider them well learnt. This supports Leite (2000)’s assertion that formal education onRE is a major challenge for the next decade.Exploring Affective AttributesThe value of the softer, more personal attributes has been explored through several studieswithin our target IT specialisations, some minor, others major.Bentley et al (1999) suggest a developmental process in which personal attributes, whichinfluence intellectual abilities and skills, are applied to the acquisition of knowledge to enablethe development of higher cognitive activities. They note that, at the end of the educationalprocess, students must be able to apply knowledge to new situations and problems. Thisrequires certain generic intellectual abilities and skills, which, they suggest, although highlyvalued by employers of IS graduates, are sometimes given only ‘lip service’ in tertiary educationcurricula. The personal attributes identified as important in the model proposed includeattributes like curiosity, risk taking, personal discipline and persistence, which can influencein important ways the successful application of intellectual skills and abilities to knowledgeto support the higher orders of thinking.36