Requirements Engineering Research Group
Current Research Projects
Creative Analysis and Business Innovation Research Programme
This is a broad programme comprising several projects that aim to investigate various aspects of creativity required by both clients and analysts engaged in conceiving and specifying innovative business products and services. Past projects focused on the development of a conceptual framework to better understand the role creativity plays in the requirements process. The more recent projects investigate methods of promoting and supporting creativity in business requirements analysis, training and education as well as understanding and evaluating characteristics of innovative solutions.
Use of Simulations and Games in Teaching Business Analysis
Ability to elicit and analyse information systems requirements is an essential skill for any business analyst. Role-playing and games have been recognised as an excellent method of teaching students the fundamental skills of business analysis. This project aims at developing online games and simulation that could support teaching and learning of these important skills.
Alignment of Business with IT Research Programme
The nature of interaction between Business and Technology departments has often been claimed to decide on the success or failure of large investment projects in organizations. One of the most decisive factors in the effective alignment of these two business components is the effectiveness of communication and collaboration between business clients and developers. Mutual understanding, trust, satisfactory negotiation and consensus building processes, ability to resolve conflicts, sense of empowerment and ownership are just a few outcomes of effective engagements of well aligned business entities. The aim of this programme is to promote involvement of all stakeholders in the earliest stages of technology acquisition and development, which is particularly challenging when developing inter-organisational systems or supply chains. We are also interested in understanding factors which motivate system owners to be more creative in the development process and subsequently for customers to perceive the resulting IS products as highly innovative.
Blue Cut Fashions e-Simulations
Jacob L. Cybulski, Lemai Nguyen and Pradip Sarkar (RMIT)
The Blue Cut Fashion (BCF) is a project aiming at immersing business students in an online simulation capable of providing them with experience in dealing with common problems in business analysis. An important aspect of modern business is the effective use of technology in solving business problems. Business analysis is often the starting point in the understanding of business context and its processes, as well as, determination of difficulties and inefficiencies in day-to-day business operation. Students undertaking a business analysis project - irrespective of their year of study or their specialisation - are involved in the collection and analysis of business data, making observations, visual presentation of insights and writing recommendations to management. BCF provides a learning framework for gaining experience in business analysis.
Business / IT Alignment in Australian Enterprise
Jacob L. Cybulski, Lemai Nguyen, Stas Lukaitis, Jenny Price, Belinda Moloney (IBM) and Pradip Sarkar (RMIT)
This project aims at developing a cohesive framework of inter-related components, which focus on the issue of effective alignment between IT and business objectives and processes (as set by business strategy), as exemplified in e-Business systems. The framework postulates that IT solutions could be flexibly aligned with business strategy by evolving both IT requirements and business processes to close the alignment gaps, which commonly cause stakeholder concerns and possible conflict. As revealed by the on-going research, the issue of successful IT alignment is of critical concern to modern enterprise!
