Presentation at Hungarian Software Testing Forum, October 2012 Budapest

1. Usage of a common terminology as well
as established techniques and methods
- key success factors of
Requirements Engineering
Stefan Sturm IREB GmbH

2. Requirements Engineering
Why should software testers care about it?
• Have you ever wondered….
• …. where the requirements for your test cases come from?
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• …. why the requirements for your test cases are of poor quality?
• …. why the requirements for your test cases are incomplete?
• …. why the requirements for your test cases are ambiguous?
• …. why the requirements for your test cases are contrary to
each other?
Because of poor Requirements Engineering!
International Requirements Engineering Board e. V. page 2

3. Requirements Engineering
Have you ever really applied it?
• Have you ever thought about….
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• …. clearly identifying the stakeholders of the system you
should test?
• …. using appropriate techniques for eliciting and documenting
requirements beyond interviews and Word documents?
• …. using appropriate techniques for requirements validation?
• ….
Have you ever thought about doing good
Requirements Engineering?
International Requirements Engineering Board e. V. page 3

4. Requirements Engineering and Software Testing
Two sides of the same coin
• Software Testers should care about Requirements Engineering
because it ….
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• …. bridges the gap between business needs and
Software Testing*
• …. delivers important input for Software Testing
• …. significantly improves the quality of
requirements documents
*Just forget this small part called software development.
That’s quite an easy job to do – just do it agile ;-)
International Requirements Engineering Board e. V. page 4

5. Common terminology, techniques and methods
Why do we need it?
• Different implementation of Requirements Engineering
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• at customers, suppliers, partners
• in distributed teams at different locations, offshore, near shore
• in different industrial sectors
• within different tools
• Different skill levels
• Many practitioners do not have an education in
systems/software engineering
• Many practitioners are involved in requirements engineering
by chance by getting “thrown” into a project
International Requirements Engineering Board e. V. page 5

6. Common terminology, techniques and methods
Why do we need it?
• Excerpt from in communication due the use of Agile delivery in central
Problems the report A snapshot of to
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• different languages
government of the National Audit Office a NGO in UK
• different cultures (ethnological and company specific)
“…..The requirements are elaborated on a just-in-time
basis, through face-to-face dialogue between the
development teams and business users. They are
• delivered rapidly of “agile”
Misunderstanding via a series of short iterations which
• Elicitation of requirements is underestimated
result in working functionality….”
• Documentation and traceability of requirements is
Healthneglected Care Information Centre
and Social
International Requirements Engineering Board e. V. page 6

7. Requirements Engineering Certification
How does it help?
• Creation of an international agreed basis for training
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• Training Providers align their trainings to a “standard” – the
syllabus of the certificate
• Common definition of terminology to improve communication
and Know-How transfer
• Companies invest in education
• as the certification fits into career paths
• as trainings are aligned to a common standard
International Requirements Engineering Board e. V. page 7

8. Certification
Goals of the IREB and the CPRE
Common foundation for the education
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in the field of RE - Worldwide
The CPRE
Improving the use of
Goals and implementation
of RE
Creation of an international understanding and
basis for communication about RE
International Requirements Engineering Board e. V. page 8

9. The certification model
Certification levels
CPRE Foundation Level
• Fundamental understanding of
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domain, methodology and available techniques
The CPRE
CPRE Advanced Level
• Mastering and using methods and techniques
• Specialization in one or more modules:
• Requirements Elicitation and Consolidation – released in 2011
• Requirements Modeling – released in 2011
• Requirements Management – in progress
• Business Analysis – in progress
……
CPRE Expert Level
International Requirements Engineering Board e. V. page 9

10. Success story
Examinee numbers since inception
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The CPRE
Over 12,000 Examinees in total – worldwide!
International Requirements Engineering Board e. V. page 10

11. Success story
IREB worldwide in 36 countries
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The CPRE
Australia, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Columbia, Denmark, Ecuador,
Egypt, Finland, France, Jordan, Germany, Great Britain, Hong
Kong, Hungary, India, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, New
Zealand, Poland, Romania, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, South
Korea, Spain, Sudan, Sweden, Switzerland, The
Netherlands, Ukraine, USA, Venezuela
International Requirements Engineering Board e. V. page 11

12. International Requirements Engineering
Board (IREB) e. V.
 Members of the board
• Personal board members:
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Renown experts from industry,
The CPRE
research, consulting and
education
• Supporting Members: Committed
persons in the field of
Requirements Engineering
 Activities of the board
• Elaboration of the curriculum, glossary and exams for the
„Certified Professional for Requirements Engineering“
• Translations of the artifacts:
English, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese (Brazil)
• Publishing of articles, textbooks and references
International Requirements Engineering Board e. V. page 12

13. IREB e. V. – the personal members
Experts from industry, research, consulting and education
1st Chairperson: Prof. Dr. Klaus Pohl
Colin Hood
Chris Rupp University of
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Free Consultant
SOPHIST GmbH Duisburg-Essen
2nd Chairperson: Dr. Peter Hruschka
Prof. Dr. Barbara Paech
Rainer Grau The Atlantic Systems
University of Heidelberg
Zühlke Engineering AG Guild
Suzanne Robertson
Treasurer:
Dr. Frank Houdek The Atlantic Systems
Karol Frühauf
Daimler AG Guild
INFOGEM AG
Prof. Dr. Martin Glinz Emmerich Fuchs Dr. Camille Salinesi
Unversity of Zurich Fuchs Informatik AG Université Paris 1
International Requirements Engineering Board e. V. page 13

14. Workgroups and Supporting Members
The work of the IREB
Elaboration of the Elaboration of the
Advanced Level Foundation Level
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The CPRE
curriculi curriculum
Workgroups /
Supporting Members
Marketing Internationalization
Translation of glossary, syllabi
and exams
Exam and exam questions for
Foundation and Advanced Level
…
International Requirements Engineering Board e. V. page 14

15. The parties involved with CPRE
Certification bodies and training providers
IREB GmbH Training Providers
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The CPRE
International
Requirements IREB GmbH
Trainees /
Engineering Examinees
Board (IREB)
IREB GmbH
Certification Bodies
Allocation of tasks to clearly separated and independent organizations
ensures fairness and neutrality!
International Requirements Engineering Board e. V. page 15

16. IREB GmbH
The operating company of IREB e.V.
• Facts
– Starting on April, 1st 2011
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– All shares hold by IREB e.V.
– Located in Karlsruhe (Germany)
• Activities
– Organizational support for the board, workgroups and
supporting members
– Coordination of IREB tasks like
• Elaboration of the curriculum and the exam questions for the
„Certified Professional for Requirements Engineering“
• Coordination and organization of training providers and
certification bodies
• Marketing of the CPRE certificate
• Press and media releases
• Publishing of articles
International Requirements Engineering Board e. V. page 16

17. Responsibilities of the involved
IREB e.V. – the board
 Responsibilities of the
IREB e.V.
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• Elaboration of the curriculum
The CPRE
• Design of the exam questions
 Responsibilities of the IREB GmbH
on behalf of IREB e.V.
• Contracting training providers and certifying bodies
• Contact for
o Contents of the curriculum
o The internationalization of the CPRE
o Validity of certificates
o Training providers and certifying bodies
International Requirements Engineering Board e. V. page 17

18. Responsibilities of the involved
Certification bodies
 Responsibilities of certifying bodies
• Organization of certifications
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• Carrying out certifications
The CPRE
• Evaluation of certifications
• Mailing certificates
 Contact for questions about
• Certification dates
• Details about the exam
• Testing locations
• Exam results
International Requirements Engineering Board e. V. page 18

19. Responsibilities of the involved
Training providers
 Responsibilities of training providers
• Hold trainings
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• If necessary, negotiate the exam dates with
The CPRE
certifying bodies
 Contact for questions about
• Details about trainings
• Content of trainings
• Training dates
International Requirements Engineering Board e. V. page 19

20. The training providers
Current list
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21. The syllabi of the CPRE
Foundation Level
 Fundamentals

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Scope and system context
The CPRE
 Eliciting requirements
 Documenting requirements in natural language
 Model-based requirements documentation
 Requirements negotiation and consolidation
 Managing requirements
 Tool support
International Requirements Engineering Board e. V. page 21

22. The syllabi of the CPRE
Advanced Level
 Released Modules
• Requirements Elicitation & Consolidation, March 1St 2011
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• Requirements Modeling, March 1St 2011
The CPRE
 Modules in work
• Requirements Management, planned for 2013
• Business Analysis
 Languages
• Currently German only, English after approx. 100 exams
o Requirements Elicitation & Consolidation will be released
before end of 2012
International Requirements Engineering Board e. V. page 22

23. The exams of the CPRE
 Foundation level
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• Multiple choice questionnaire
The CPRE
 Advanced level
• Multiple choice questionnaire
• Written assignment, 2-3 days of effort
International Requirements Engineering Board e. V. page 23

24. The exams of the CPRE
Foundation Level
 Duration: 75 minutes – 15 minutes extension for
non native speakers
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 45 Multiple Choice questions
The CPRE
 Each question yields 1 to 3 points
 60% of the points needed to pass
 Three different types of questions:
• Pick one correct answer
• Pick two or more correct answers
• Decide for each answer whether it is true/false,
correct/incorrect…..
 Incorrect checked answers lead to a deduction of
points! Not all choices need to be taken!
International Requirements Engineering Board e. V. page 24

25. The exams of the CPRE
Advanced Level
 Step one: MC exam as in
 Step two: Elaboration of a written assignment
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• Description of a complex project according to the
The CPRE
context of the syllabus.
• Detailed justification of the chosen techniques and
documentation forms
• Size and format of deliverables depending on AL
module
• Estimated effort: Two days
• Submission 90 days after registration
International Requirements Engineering Board e. V. page 25

26. The book for the CPRE
Covering the essentials
 The textbook to go with the
Foundation Level CPRE
certificate
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The CPRE
 Goal-oriented preparation
for the certification exam
 Equates CPRE (FL)
Syllabus 2.1
 Klaus Pohl / Chris Rupp
1st edition, Rocky Nook
192 pages, 30 April 2011
ISBN 978-1933952819
International Requirements Engineering Board e. V. page 26

27. Discussion
Thank you for your attention!
www.ireb.org
Stefan.Sturm@ireb.org
twitter.com/IREBinternat
LinkedIn group “IREB Certified Professional
for Requirements Engineering (CPRE)”
International Requirements Engineering Board e. V. page 27

28. Picture credits
By iStockphoto.com
• Job Review by matzaball
• adult education: addressing the issue by Track5
• team award by sturti
• Business Team Meeting by jhorrocks
• Successful business team working by Skynesher
International Requirements Engineering Board e. V.