Software Requirements Engineering  Assignment 1

ECE 321: Software Requirements Engineering 
Assignment 1 (individual work; 10 pts total)
1. (5 pts total) Write a 1-1.5 page review of the Chapter 6 entitled "Passing the Word" from the
“Mythical Man-Month” book by Frederick P. Brooks Jr. Your review should consist of three
parts:
1. (1 pt) Description of main contributions of this paper (one paragraph)
2. (1 pt) Presentation of your criticisms of this paper, including your opinions and insights
about the ideas presented by the authors (one paragraph)
3. Answers to the following questions:
1. (1 pt) Give three characteristics that describe a good manual style, as described at the
beginning of the chapter. The author says that manual (specification) can be written
using formal and/or informal style. Which of these two styles would you choose as a
primary standard and why, given the three characteristics? Your answer should be up to
3 sentences long.
2. (1 pt) Author identifies two types of meetings as especially effective. List them
including the people involved in them. Your answer should be up to 3 sentences long.
3. (1 pt) According to the author, why do we need an independent product-testing
organization to check implementation against specification? Do you agree with the
author? Explain. Your answer should be up to 3 sentences long.
2. (5 pts total) Write a 1-1.5 page review of the “Requirements Engineering: The State of the
Practice” by Colin J. Neill and Phillip A. Laplante. Your review should consist of three parts:
1. (1 pt) Description of main contributions of this paper (one paragraph)
2. (1 pt) Presentation of your criticisms of this paper, including your opinions and insights
about the ideas presented by the authors (one paragraph)
3. Answers to the following five questions:
1. (0.6 pt) According to the survey, which lifecycle model is used the most frequently for
software projects that last for:
1. up to two years, and
2. more than two years?
Explain why you think different models are used in the above two situations? Your
answer should be up to 3 sentences long.
2. (0.6 pt) How many responders, in percent, performed prototyping? Which type of
prototyping has been identified as a most frequent? Give two reasons that, in your
opinion, contribute to popularity of this particular type of prototyping. Your answer
should be up to 3 sentences long
3. (0.6 pt) According to the survey, what are the top three most popular methods for
elicitation of users’ requirements? Which of them would you use in your project and
why? Your answer should be up to 4 sentences long.
4. (0.6 pt) According to the survey, is the informal modelling of the requirements more
popular than the formal representations? Explain why you think one of these
representations is more popular than the other. Your answer should be up to 2 sentences
long.
5. (0.6 pt) Is it true that according to the survey longer projects were less often finished on
time and within the budget? Your answer should a simple Yes or No.
NOTES
Use a separate, clearly marked paragraph for each of the three parts of each review; number
your answers to the questions.
- Please observe the limits on the length of the answers.
- Note that in the second part we ask for your personal criticism. This section must have
substance.
Due Dates and Notes
Your assignment must be received by 11:00am MST, September 20th (Thursday), 2018 in
eClass. Your review should be written single-spaced, using 12 font size, and with standard
margins.