Requirements Engineering

The early stages of development of software-intensive systems – often simply labeled as Requirements Engineering (RE) - are a critical determinant for software quality. Many projects nevertheless still suffer from insufficient RE. One-third of software development errors are estimated to have their origin in RE and one-third of these errors are known to lead to project failures.

In a world pervaded by software, and where the majority of our daily routines are supported – if not dominated – by software-intensive systems, excellence in RE becomes key. While it’s common knowledge that various influences in industrial practices, surrounding development processes, and tools render standardization efforts of RE approaches cumbersome, much of today’s research in RE still relies on conventional and often purely academic knowledge that result in the recommendation of universal, one-size-fits- all approaches. Closing this gap between theory and practice is the high-level goal of Requirements Engineering field of competence where we strive to move from a traditional RE with universal solutions, to a next generation RE to accommodate the needs to today’s software development projects.

Our research places a strong emphasis on collaboration with relevant industry sectors and focuses on three major, interconnected research areas:

1. Requirements engineering in highly regulated environments
   Including concepts and tools to support regulatory compliance in Requirements Engineering.
2. Requirements engineering in data-driven environments
   Including concepts and tools for automation in Requirements Engineering, associated quality assurance, and Requirements Engineering for AI-intensive software systems.
3. Requirements engineering in user-centered environments
   Including concepts and methods for problem exploration and understanding, such as Design Thinking, and their integration into model-based engineering approaches.