This paper addresses the
political nature of requirements for large systems, and argues that requirements engineering theory and practice must become more engaged with these issues. It argues that large-scale system requirements is constructed through a political decision process, whereby requirements emerge as a set of mappings between consecutive solution spaces justified by a problem space of concern to a set of principals. These solution spaces are complex socio-technical ensembles that often exhibit non-linear behaviour in expansion due to domain complexity and political ambiguity. Stabilisation of solutions into agreed-on specifications occurs only through the exercise of organisational power. Effective requirements engineering in such cases is most effectively seen as a form of heterogeneous engineering in which technical, social, economic and institutional factors are brought together in a current solution space that provides the baseline for construction of proposed new solution spaces.
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Bergman, M., King, J. & Lyytinen, K. Large-Scale Requirements Analysis Revisited: The need for Understanding the Political Ecology of Requirements Engineering. Requirements Eng 7, 152–171 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1007/s007660200011
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s007660200011