While a lot of work is being done on technology of requirements
engineering, I have chosen to focus on what I believe is the hardest part
of requirements engineering, namely the human processes by which it is
done. It seems that no matter how good the technology is, no matter how
suitable it is for the job at hand, human behavior and limitations affect
the way we use this technology to succeed or fail in requirements
engineering. Indeed, even
<a href="inevitable.pain.html">the inevitable pain of software development</a>
rears its ugly head in requirements engineering.

<p>
I believe that the most fruitful way to investigate the effect of human
behavior and limitations on requirements engineering is to examine the
various roles in requirements engineering. These roles include that of
customer, user, requirements engineer, as well as their various special
cases.

<p>
The research into roles that I have done include:
	<ul>
	<li>  <a href="ignorance.html">
		Importance of Ignorance and the Role of an Ignoramus in
			Requirements Engineering</a>
	<li> House Building as a Metaphor for Software Engineering
	<li> Emotions, Values, and Beliefs in Requirements Engineering
	<li> The Customer's Role in Requirements Engineering
	<li> Empirical Observations of Requirements Engineering
	</ul>