The Use of Cognitive Maps for Requirements Elicitation in Product Development

ABSTRACT This article approaches Engineering Requirements concepts and proposes the use of cognitive maps as support to the problem identification of the stakeholders during the requirements elicitation process. It presents a case study of the aerospace cluster of São José dos Campos, State of São Paulo. The cognitive map technique was developed to represent the views of the individuals, generating cognitive maps, which, in an aggregated way, express graphically the collective vision to support the decision-making process. Applied to Engineering Requirements, it has revealed the potential to promote the convergence of different points of view on the actual stakeholders’ needs in innovative fashion. This technique has demonstrated effectiveness when approaching the stated requirements early in the development process implemented throughout the life cycle of the system/product.