Does Requirements Clustering Lead to Modular Design?

[Context and motivation] The clustering of system requirements groups together related requirements. In a concept paper, we had previously proposed a requirements clustering approach for the purpose of modularizing software. [Question/problem] In this short paper, we describe a preliminary study to explore the answer to the posed question: whether or not requirements clustering leads to modular design as measured by design goodness criteria. [Principal ideas/results] The study assesses the modularity of software designs developed by independent groups given the same requirements. These are then compared against the expected design resultant from implementing the requirements cluster. [Contribution] The study results are encouraging and it warrants further investigation.

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