Criteria for Selecting Software Requirements to Create Product Value: An Industrial Empirical Study

Product value is based on which requirements are included in a specific release of a software product. This chapter provides an overview of the value concept and presents an empirical study conducted as an industrial survey. The objective of the survey was to quantify the importance of different decision making criteria when deciding whether to include a requirement in a project or release. The results reported from the survey are based on responses from two companies. It was discovered that there were similarities in responses at a company level, although major differences existed between individual respondents to the survey. The most important criteria were found to be those related to specific customers or markets and criteria, such as development cost-benefit, delivery date, and resources. The least important criteria were those related to development and maintenance. The results also indicate that a better balance between the most important and least important criteria ought to be achieved in the future.

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