Development of a computer-based interviewing tool to enhance the requirements gathering process

Software design is an area where it is most important to elicit an accurate and complete set of requirements. Determining the users requirements and their qualitative satisfaction with a developing product are two major problems which arise, often due to the different backgrounds and perspectives of the different stakeholders, including the software engineer, the domain expert and the end-user. Involving users throughout the design and development process is an essential part of any project. Computer-based interviewing has been found to be a valuable tool in eliciting information, which can also enhance interpersonal communication afterwards. This paper discusses the development of a computer interviewing tool to facilitate the gathering of user requirements and conducting user evaluations.