Categorizing users in requirement engineering process: A case study in e-university project

In order to fulfill user's requirement, it is very important to manage user effectively. Many studies have shown that most of the software project fails due to the inconsistent needs of software users with the view of software developers. Understanding user needs is not a sequential process. It involves different disciplines such as psychology, languages and communications, organizational behavior and management. This study has explored a practical approach of managing users by establishing ownership-based user groups. Each group will have its own characteristic and responsibility which will be established through policy, education and awareness program. The commitment and cooperation of each user group will be managed through identifying and managing them through cooperation based user group. The case study has been carried out in University College of Engineering & Technology Malaysia. The study has derived 4 categories of users based on ownership with its own characteristic and responsibility. As for the cooperation based user groups, it has been categorized into 4 groups. The study found that managing users through ownership-based and cooperation based user group has improved the involvement and commitment level of users during the whole software process especially during requirement engineering process.