Resources

The lists of resources below are in alphabetical order and do not represent an order of preference. This section includes requirements engineering and process improvement related links in the following areas:

• Recommended Books
• Software Engineering Organizations
• Industry Specialists

Recommended Books
The following books are in alphabetical order by title and do not represent an order of preference.

• Business Rule Book contains very good descriptions of the types of business rules and how they are related. Business Rules are a key starting point for gathering requirements. (Ronald G. Ross, Business Rule Solutions, Incorporated; 2nd edition 1997 ).
• Capability Maturity Model provides an overview into the Software Engineering Institute (SEI) Capability Maturity Model (CMM) first developed by Watts Humphrey.  (Mark C. Paulk, Bill Curtis, Mary Beth Chrissis, and Charles V. Weber, SEI, 1993).
• Complete Systems Analysis provides a great tutorial about analyzing systems. (James & Suzanne Robertson, Dorset House, 1994).
• Creating A Software Engineering Culture provides the basics for any level manager in Information Technology on how to institute a software engineering culture.   (Karl Wiegers, Dorset House, 1994).
• Customer-Centered Products is a clearly written book on requirements targeted at managers. (Ivy F. Hooks and Kristin A. Farry, AMACOM, 2001).
• Effective Business Writing contains general information on writing in various forms. It has guides for both the process of writing and rules for style with examples. (Maryann V. Piotrowski, Quill, 1996).
• Exploring Requirements is the number one book for anyone interested in understanding requirements. (Gerald Weinberg & Don Gause, Dorset House, 1989).
• Managing Software Requirements, Second Edition – A Use Case Approach is a must read for every practitioner. (Dean Leffingwell and Don Widrig, Addison-Wesley, 2003).
• Mastering the Requirements Process describes a detailed process for gathering and verifying requirements. (Suzanne Robertson and James Robertson, Addison-Wesley, 1999).
• Patterns for Effective Use Cases presents many suggestions for how to effectively apply use cases for developing user requirements. (Steve Adolph and Paul Bramble, Addison-Wesley, 2003).
• Requirements by Collaboration: Workshops for Defining Needs provides a comprehensive and practical approach to holding effective requirements-gathering workshops with users. (Ellen Gottesdiener, Addison-Wesley, 2002).
• A Requirements Pattern provides clear role definitions, and numerous possible elicitation questions. (Patricia L. Ferdinandi, Addison-Wesley, 2002).
• Software Requirements, 2nd Edition is an excellent book for both the novice and the expert Requirements Engineer. (Karl Wiegers, Microsoft, 2003).
• Use Cases – Requirements in Context provides the Requirements Engineer with an approach to documenting requirements using a process based on use cases. (Daryl Kulak and Eamonn Guiney, Addison-Wesley, 2000).
• Writing at Work is a much more detailed guide than “Effective Business Writing”. It is also much more complex in its delivery. (Edward L. Smith and Stephen A. Bernhardt, NTC, 1996).
• Writing Effective Use Cases is a good book for engineers who want to capture the behavioral requirements of software systems. ( Alistair Cockburn, Addison-Wesley, 2001).

Software Engineering Organizations
Valuable links for non-profit software engineering organizations.

• TDWI : is an organization dedicated to promoting best practices in the area of data warehousing. [http://www.dw-institute.com/]
• IEEE Computer Society : is the leading provider of technical information and services to the world's computing professionals. [http://www.computer.org/]
• Project Management Institute : an organization that promotes best practices in the area of project management. [http://www.pmi.org/]
• Quality Assurance Institute : provides leadership and state-of-the-art solutions in the form of consulting, education services and assessments for software quality. [http://www.qaiusa.com/]
• Software Engineering Institute : is part of Carnegie Mellon and sponsors of the Capability Maturity Model. [http://www.sei.cmu.edu/]

Industry Specialists
Valuable sources for information on the computer industry that provides information on trends and product evaluations.

• Gartner provides members with cutting-edge advice and targeted insights to support competitive decision-making across the Information Technology spectrum.
• Forrester Research has access to a wide range of knowledge experts that makes everything work together synergistically.
• The Standish Group is a market research and advisory firm specializing in mission-critical software and electronic commerce. One such report includes the research on project failure and success.