ABSTRACT
Software applications are composed of functional requirements and nonfunctional requirements (NFRs). Functional requirements are demanded by every user, whereas the NFRs are handled in ad hoc nature due to inability of these requirements to provide necessary functionality.
In ever-changing dynamic environment with more focus on time to market and software quality, the survival of business unit is highly probabilistic. Imposition of such challenges is usually handled as solution strategies in business unit policies. But such policies are focused on handling functionality rather than NFRs. It had been due to limited work as available in literature related to empirical studies on NFRs and their contribution to business units.
This book aims to report the conducted empirical studies including surveys, case studies and experimentations to achieve the following objectives:
First, to empirically study the manner in which NFRs get attention of the software engineer during development of mobile apps like m-commerce apps in relation to functional apps.
Second, to empirically analyze the contribution of NFRs in various project parameters like cost, time, project success. Such parameters are of prime interest as they determine survival of the firm in highly dynamic environment. The impact of NFRs on project success is determined by performing surveys and case studies individually and relative to each other. Sources for data collection include the industries, academics and the literature.
Third, to empirically study the impact of NFRs on overall business success of both developing firm and software procuring firm. Project success may or may not lead to business success.
The empirical analyses converged in the final understanding that the NFRs of the software are essential not only to software developing firm but also to firm procuring the software. NFRs determine the project success by altering the values of parameters like cost and time that are of prime interest to the firm. The outcome has provided a motivation for both the researchers and the firms to consider NFRs at par with functional requirements to enhance their survival in competitive environments. The high-priority NFRs must be considered irrespective of the incurred costs if their importance overweighs the other requirements.
