Monday, December 27, 2010

Ignoramus! Importance of Ignorance in Requirements Engineering

"Tacit assumptions" are the main reasons why there is error in understanding the clients requirements.  Therefore, it is necessary to have a person who is ignorant of the domain who will question those assumptions and make the requirements clear.

It seems that among experts the common mistake is tacit assumptions. Because they are unspoken no one notices them. Having a ignoramus or ignorant person in the team is an excellent way to question the assumptions which the experts take for granted.

Not against Domain expertise

The article emphasizes that the author is not against the domain expertise. In fact, one of the members of the requirement analyst team must be a domain expert.  The requirements cannot be invented from total ignorance.

The domain expert seeks basic information needed, but he or she may fall for tacit assumptions.

The ignoramus has no assumptions and asks questions whenever he or she notices signs of whenever he or she notices something left unsaid.


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