Requirements Analysis in Disruptive Engineering Solutions Using the Paradigm of Living Systems

Abstract

A particular characteristic of disruptive products is in reengineering advanced technologies for addressing the needs of low-end consumers and/or non-consumers, to transform them into new consumers. This requires a lean co-creative analysis of requirements with all stakeholders involved. Even if a theory encourages the continuous connection of designers and users throughout the design lifecycle for agile adaptation of requirements to the new experiences of users by intersecting them with various versions of the prototype, the rigid budget and time allocated to the design project require novel approaches to clarify the right vectors of product-evolution from the very early design stages of the project lifecycle—allowing agile approaches to fine-tune the set of requirements. In this context, an analysis process of requirements that uses a constructor inspired by living systems is introduced in this paper. This constructor identifies gaps in requirement formulation and indicates areas where improvements must be undertaken. The method is applied in the case of a new cybersecurity software solution that targets micro and small companies.