A Survey Investigating the Influence of Business Analysis Techniques on Software Quality Characteristics

Business analysis is recognized as one of the most important areas determining the outcome (success or failure) of a software project. In this paper we explore this subject further by investigating the potential impact of techniques applied in business analysis on essential software quality characteristics. We conducted a literature search for software quality models, analyzed the existing models and selected a subset of commonly recognized quality characteristics. Also, we identified a representative set of recommended state-of-the-art business analysis techniques. These two sets provided the basis for questionnaire survey and interviews. We conducted a survey involving 20 industry professionals, followed up by 2 interviews with experienced business analysts to discuss and interpret survey results. The main outcome are recommendations regarding techniques to be used in software project for a given quality characteristic considered essential.