Software Requirements 2

I'm somewhat of a software engineering/process geek. I find the process of creating a product more interesting than the actual code these days (though I like to code). Wiegers' book is THE bible, in my opinion, for eliciting and maintaining requirements. He covers the issues involved in gathering requirements and keeping them up to date, often offering multiple ways to resolve issues. Wiegers, unlike many academic oriented books, fully acknowledges the political and cultural difficulties that arise when trying to institute a requirements program. Much of his advice is practical and he gives good pointers on the highst ROI practices, so you can inject a little at a time, rather than trying to change culture wholesale. I'd give a 4.5 out of 5 if I could, due only to the "Next Steps" sections at the end of each chapter. The "Next Steps" are supposedly be small steps you can take to start using the advice Wiegers offers. Unfortunately, most of the steps start with "Take a page/chapter from your current requirements document...." I've worked at few companies that even have a requirements document, so I'm not sure how useful the "Next Steps" really are. But, that complaint aside, this book is the best combination of reference information for techniques and advice on how to use them on the job.

When I first purchased this book back in 2006, I went through most of it fairly quickly, and even downloaded some of Wiegers supplementary material from processimpact.com. Some of my colleagues took notice and together we formed a mini-workshop using the downloaded materials, which we used to gather requirements for an enhancement to one of the applications I assist in managing. A merger and subsequent reorganization later, I found the time to finish the book. I recommend it for the developer or technical manager who finds themselves in a project that lacks thorough requirements development. The book uses appropriate tone and terminology to address its' intended audience; it is neither too simplistic nor overly dense. It has enough supplementary material to preclude the need to build a requirements development process from scratch without looking too much like a cookbook. Its' bibliography includes several classics and many references not familiar to me. All in all, a balanced book about requirements development and management.

I do recommend this book, both for experienced of novice sofware developers or consultants for several reasons: 1. The content has a great balance between practical advice and theory, so it won't burden you with information applicable to 5% (e.g. huge projects) of your daily work 2. It is well written, both in content and edition style (format) so it is very easy to read and understand quickly 3. It has references to standards and literacy but it is just to illustrate and not so heavily that makes it hard to read To sum up, its one of the very best SW Engineering books I've read so far and so that I do recommend it. Alex Ballarin IT Consultant Cynertia Consulting, Barcelona, Spain

I have had this book for some time and recently realized how often I use it as a reference when I am trying to figure out a way to document or model a feature. This book is well worth the price, I have definitely benefited from keeping this book near my desk. Although this book is not to replace books dedicated to topics such as Use Cases, technical writing, UML and modeling, change control, or test case development it is a great place to see them all work together in context. Don't forget to visit the `Requirements Engineering" section of the authors' site. There you will find the samples from the book and other useful articles.

"Software Requirements" was an excellent read, with vastly more infomation and topics covered than I expected. Requirements were presented as an "ecosystem", with Good Practices, Setting Vision/Scope, and listening to the Customer well presented in opening paragraphs. Since software requirements cover such a vast area, no one particular domain was addressed in detail. Instead, their general traits were well addressed. I particularly appreciated the added details for Requirements Manaqement, handling Changes, Traceability, and Prototyping. Also, an entire chapter was devoted to Risk Management, and thus risk reduction, which was of very practical benefit to me. Like everyone, I operate under intense schedule and budget pressure; if I had unlimited time and budget, I could simply iterate "forever". Instead, this book aptly provided practical day-to-day guidance for my real-life software projects. I will share the learned insight with my co-workers and clients alike. A very valuable read, with something for everyone. (My only suggestion would be to publish several sequels addressing unique needs of different domains.)

Great source of information! This was well decided purchase and moreover - I really loved reading it! Very well presented author's experience that kept reader's attention, not to forget the author's sense of humor that was pure added value. Very happy with this book and shall revert to more than once, I am sure.

if you've ever had to write requirements or deal with an SRS this is the absolute book for you. This is my bible as a business analyst. Lots of information provided in a fresh understandable way. minimal technical writing so it's very easy to follow.

Un des meilleurs livres sur l'expression des besoins pour le logiciel. Très pragmatique et bourré d'exemples concrets.

Bon livre de référence

Came in very good shape. Thanks

Wiegers is the best in explaining straight forward things and concepts.... I loved the book... I would say thank you for sharing your ideas this way!!