Complete thesis - Murdoch University

Figure 2.5: The revised catastrophe-cycle process (as described in Raisey et al (2006))As noted above, an indication of the view adhered to can be provided by the terms usedwithin the discipline. As another example, requirements elicitation implies requirements are‘out there’ to be elicited. Classic requirements analysis techniques are seen as an attemptto isolate requirements from their context (Loucopoulos and Karakostas, 1995) and focus onthe automated system itself, rather than the people and processes that system serves.The distance requirements are seen to have from the user is reinforced by the requirementselicitation techniques advocated. As an example, forms analysis does not regard the useras the prime source of knowledge about the problem domain. Rather the form, widelyused in organisational communications, is seen as the most promising source of knowledgein that it is formal, based on data, easily acquired, often accompanied by instructions andeasily automated. In a similar vein, textually based natural language as a source of problemknowledge has a vocabulary (the language of the domain and the stakeholders) to helpestablish organisational meaning; syntax that is understood and informality as a techniquefor dealing with complexity (Loucopoulos and Karakostas, 1995). However, natural languagerequirements capture is based on identifying constructs to map to requirements modellingformalisms through the application of rules and heuristics. The application of heuristics atleast acknowledges the importance of the experience of the Requirements Engineer in theprocess. Verbally based natural language, on the other hand, does imply interaction with theuser. As an example the ‘story telling’ of scenario-based RE focusses on the creation of social53