Requirements Volatility in Software Development Process

Changes in requirements do occur during the software development life cycle. The changes may take place from the initial design phase up to the implementation phase. These change that creep during the development process pose risk to cost and quality of the product, but at the same time provide an opportunity to add value. This paper discusses the requirement, volatility in requirements, causes of requirement volatility and then the impact of requirement volatility on Project Schedule, Project Cost, Project Performance, Software Quality and Software Maintenance. We also try to explore the positive implications (if any) of the requirement changes. The purpose of this paper is to discuss aspects related to requirement volatility. KeywordsRequirements change; requirements management; project management; card sorting; software evolution; development; maintenance.