Quest for a Silver Bullet: Creating Software Product Value through Requirements Selection

This paper provides results of an empirical study on how software product value is both understood and created through release planning for software products in Australia. We examine how IT professionals perceive value creation through requirements engineering and how the release planning process is conducted to create software product value. We then look at the degree to which the major stakeholders' perspectives are represented in the decision making process. Our findings show that the client and market base of the software product represents the most influential group in the decision to implement specific requirements. This is reflected both in terms of deciding the processes followed and the decision making criteria applied when selecting requirements for the product. It is concluded that the creation of software product value is dependant on the context in which the software product exists, including issues such as the market or the age of the product