A postgraduate course in Computing and IT.

One of the best ways to ensure the quality of any product or service is to get the requirements for it right. This course examines requirements engineering (RE), which is used to analyse business problems and develop requirements specifications, by eliciting and documenting the requirements of those affected stakeholders. The specification can then be used to develop an appropriate solution to the problem. In this course, we assume that the eventual solution will be computer based. Students will have the opportunity to engage in small group-collaboration in a wiki environment to emulate real-life RE practice.

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This course is available for study in the countries shown. Fees and financial support may vary by country.

What you will study

If the requirements for a product or service are not clearly or completely set out, any project or design based on them cannot succeed. The increasing complexity of software systems and the dependency of organisations on their software systems stress the need for software-development projects to be successful. As product life cycles get shorter, and as technology enables more ways of producing goods and services, it is harder to meet a client’s requirements and deliver a new software system within the constraints of time, cost and quality.

M883 examines a disciplined approach to the process of eliciting, analysing, communicating and agreeing requirements as the essential first step in the development of software. (The later stages of development, design and implementation, are covered in other courses.) However, precisely which activities should be undertaken will depend on the development process being adopted. The course discusses the options appropriate for a range of processes from the very ‘agile’ to the most formal. Managing change is also an important activity in this context, as requirements will evolve in the time it takes to develop software. It is also desirable that requirements should be reused in different projects and across product families to reduce cost and effort, so these features will also be discussed in the course.

Whilst M883 focuses on products and services that are likely to involve a computer, it is still the case that when building any artefact (goods or services) it is important to ensure that the requirements are right. Therefore, M883 is appropriate to gathering requirements whether or not a computer is involved.

The text for M883 is in the form of Study Guides which have been written by the course team to supplement a text book (supplied). The course also uses a collection of published articles that provide insights into state-of-the-art requirements engineering and give alternative views on important concepts. To help you practise the requirements process, there are case studies and a software tool. Since requirements elicitation is seldom practiced by an individual but is performed by teams of requirements engineers, you will have the opportunity to engage in some group activities using the latest internet technologies including wikis (to produce requirements specifications collaboratively online).

You will not have to do any programming, but the course does assume that you are a competent computer user, able to use a word-processor, access the Web and use email.

There is a dedicated website from which the articles, software and assignments must be downloaded. The website also keeps you up to date with the course.

The course is suitable for anyone who is, or wishes to become, involved in the development of new products or services, whether or not this will involve the use of a computer.

You will learn

The essential principles and practices of requirements engineering including:

• the need for accurate and complete problem analysis and how these relate to business goals
• how to determine the major activities or processes within a given business context
• how to elicit requirements for a specific real-world business problem
• how to identify the stakeholders of a business problem and its solution, and understand how to manage stakeholder conflicts
• how to determine the qualities of a set of requirements and make them measureable
• how to specify a set of requirements
• how to avoid ambiguity and conflict in requirements
• how to reuse requirements
• the connection between requirements engineering and design
• how to apply the requirements process to projects of various levels of agility
• how to carry out requirements review
• how to communicate a set of requirements to a variety of stakeholders
• how to work collaboratively on the production of a requirements specification
• developing a reflective approach to learning.

Having completed M883, you should have gained a thorough understanding of the state-of-the-art in requirements engineering, leading to a deep and systematic understanding of the subject area including, but not restricted to, the requirements needed to support product lines in software development and the application of problem frames.

Entry

There are no entry requirements, but we do assume that you have already studied to a minimum of HNC/HND level or have equivalent experience from your employment. The course does not assume a knowledge of computers or computing beyond that of a competent computer user (someone who is confident in the use of a word-processor, email and the use of a web browser). If you have any doubt about the suitability of the course, please contact our Student Registration & Enquiry Service.

If you would like more information about the Postgraduate Computing programme as a whole, you can visit the programme website. This site includes additional information about the programme, details of new courses and qualifications that are being planned, some samples of study materials, FAQs and links to descriptions of current courses and related qualifications.

You do need to have a reasonable standard of spoken and written English to study successfully with us. Poor language skills will make study more difficult, and it will take longer. The normal requirements for English language skills are explained on our website.

If you have any doubts about whether your level of English is good enough for you to study this course you may find it helpful to look at our Skills for OU Study site.

Discount for Open University Graduates

If you are a graduate of The Open University (holding either an undergraduate or masters degree), you are eligible for a discount of £100 towards the cost of this course. You can claim this discount when you register, please contact our Student Registration & Enquiry Service.

Qualifications

M883 is a compulsory module in our:

• Postgraduate Diploma in Management of Software Projects (E19)
• Postgraduate Diploma in Software Development (D69)
• MSc in Management of Software Projects (F43)
• MSc in Software Development (F26)

M883 is an optional module in our:

• Postgraduate Certificate in Technology Management (C49)
• Postgraduate Certificate in Computing (C69)
• Postgraduate Diploma in Computing for Commerce and Industry (C02)
• Postgraduate Diploma in Information Systems (E10)
• Postgraduate Diploma in Technology Management (E08)
• MSc in Computing for Commerce and Industry (F05)
• MSc in Information Systems (F37)
• MSc in Strategic Management of Information Systems (F54)
• MSc in Technology Management (F36)

Some postgraduate qualifications allow study to be chosen from other subject areas. We advise you to refer to the relevant qualification descriptions for information on the circumstances in which this module  can count towards these qualifications because from time to time the structure and requirements may change.

Regulations

As a student of The Open University, you should be aware of the content of the Module Regulations and the Student Regulations which are available on our Essential documents website.

If you have a disability

The course makes considerable use of diagrams and you will be expected to submit your own in answer to assessment questions. A software requirements tool for use in practical exercises is distributed with the study materials, however, in order to make the course more accessible, use of this tool is not compulsory; you may use whatever means you wish to draw diagrams. Part of the assessment requires access to electronic material from the dedicated website. The study materials are available in Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) with the exception of the brought-in-book. Therefore, you might need to spend considerable amounts of time using a personal computer and the internet. If you have a computer with screen reading and synthetic speech facilities you will need to check that these will work with the study material and software well in advance of starting the course.

Study materials

What's included

The set book, Mastering the Requirements Process, edition 2, by Suzanne Robertson and James Robertson, published by Addison-Wesley; supporting study texts, a set of published articles, software, M883 website, online forums, wiki.

You will need

Access to the internet is essential, since some study materials are available only on the M883 website and you will have to access the course wiki to engage in the collaborative activities. You also need to use the internet to submit your assignments to your tutor.

Computing requirements

You will need a computer with internet access to study this course as it includes online activities, which you can access using a web browser.

• If you have purchased a new desktop or laptop computer since 2007 you should have no problems completing the online activities.
• If you’ve got a netbook, tablet or other mobile computing device check our Technical requirements section.
• If you use an Apple Mac you will need OS X 10.6 or later.

You can also visit the Technical requirements section for further computing information including the details of the support we provide.

Teaching and assessment

Support from your tutor

You will have a tutor who will be responsible for monitoring your progress on the course, marking and commenting on your written work and whom you can contact for advice and guidance. There is usually a lively student online forum. Contact our Student Registration & Enquiry Service if you want to know more about study with The Open University before you register.

Assessment

The assessment details can be found in the facts box above.

You will be expected to submit your tutor-marked assignments (TMAs) online through the eTMA system unless there are some difficulties which prevent you from doing so. In these circumstances, you must negotiate with your tutor to get their agreement to submit your assignment on paper.

You will take your examination in one of the University’s examination centres.

Professional recognition

BCS - The Chartered Institute for IT offers exemption from some of its membership requirements for holders of an appropriate MSc in Computing from The Open University. M883 can form part of such an MSc. You can download our Recognition leaflet 3.7 Computing or ask our Student Registration & Enquiry Service for a copy. BCS regulations are on their website. 

Future availability

The details given here are for the course that starts in November 2013. We expect it to be available once more, in 2014.

How to register

To register a place on this course return to the top of the page and use the Click to register button.

Student Reviews

Distance learning

The Open University is the world’s leading provider of flexible, high quality distance learning. Unlike other universities we are not campus based. You will study in a flexible way that works for you whether you’re at home, at work or on the move. As an OU student you’ll be supported throughout your studies – your tutor or study adviser will guide and advise you, offer detailed feedback on your assignments, and help with any study issues. Tuition might be in face-to-face groups, via online tutorials, or by phone.

For more information about distance learning at the OU read Study explained.

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The University wishes to emphasise that, while every effort is made to regularly update this site, the material on it is subject to alteration or amendment in the light of changes in regulations or in policy or of financial or other necessity.