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Requirements Elicitation in Transition: A Review of Conventional and Contemporary Approaches
Review Article  ·  Published: 18 August 2025
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ICCK Journal of Software Engineering
Volume 1, Issue 1, 2025: 32-45
Review Article Open Access

Requirements Elicitation in Transition: A Review of Conventional and Contemporary Approaches

by
Asma Akhtar Asma Akhtar 1 *
Samia Akhtar Samia Akhtar 1 ORCID
1 Department of Computer Science, Virtual University of Pakistan, Lahore 54000, Pakistan
* Corresponding Author: Asma Akhtar, [email protected]
Volume 1, Issue 1
Volume 1, Issue 1 2025
Received: 13 July 2025 Accepted: 29 July 2025 Published: 18 August 2025 CrossMark
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DOI: 10.62762/JSE.2025.862549
ARK: ark:/57805/jse.2025.862549

Article Information

Published in ICCK Journal of Software Engineering
Volume/Issue Volume 1, Issue 1, 2025
Pages 32-45
Cited by 1 (Crossref)

Abstract

Requirements elicitation is one of the most important steps in the software development process. It involves understanding what users and stakeholders need from a system before it is built. Traditionally, this has been done using methods like interviews, questionnaires, document reviews, and direct observation. These approaches work well in structured environments but often fall short when dealing with large, fast-changing, or agile projects. In recent years, software development has shifted toward more flexible and fast-paced practices. This change has also affected how requirements are gathered. New techniques now include collaborative tools, user feedback from online platforms, and the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and natural language processing (NLP) to extract requirements from text automatically. This paper presents a comparative narrative review based on recent literature and practical insights. It presents both traditional and modern requirements elicitation methods, comparing them in terms of how they work, where they are most useful, and what challenges they present. A detailed comparison highlights key differences such as level of user interaction, tool support, scalability, and suitability for ongoing development cycles. By reviewing recent research and real-world practices, this paper identifies current trends, challenges, and open areas for future work. The goal is to help researchers, software engineers, and project teams choose the most suitable elicitation methods based on their specific project needs. In the end, this review supports the idea that a flexible, hybrid approach-blending old and new techniques-may be the most effective way forward in today's evolving software engineering landscape.

Graphical Abstract

Requirements Elicitation in Transition: A Review of Conventional and Contemporary Approaches

Keywords

requirements elicitation software engineering agile development artificial intelligence stakeholder analysis requirements extraction

Data Availability Statement

Data will be made available on request.

Funding

This work was supported without any funding.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Ethical Approval and Consent to Participate

Not applicable.

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Cited By (1)

  1. Claudio Ciano, Marcello Pelosi, Alessandro Del Prete, Flora Amato. . Advanced Information Networking and Applications, 2026 , 299 .
    [CrossRef]
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APA Style
Akhtar, A., & Akhtar, S. (2025). Requirements Elicitation in Transition: A Review of Conventional and Contemporary Approaches. ICCK Journal of Software Engineering, 1(1), 32–45. https://doi.org/10.62762/JSE.2025.862549
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TY  - JOUR
AU  - Akhtar, Asma
AU  - Akhtar, Samia
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/08/18
TI  - Requirements Elicitation in Transition: A Review of Conventional and Contemporary Approaches
JO  - ICCK Journal of Software Engineering
T2  - ICCK Journal of Software Engineering
JF  - ICCK Journal of Software Engineering
VL  - 1
IS  - 1
SP  - 32
EP  - 45
DO  - 10.62762/JSE.2025.862549
UR  - https://www.icck.org/article/abs/JSE.2025.862549
KW  - requirements elicitation
KW  - software engineering
KW  - agile development
KW  - artificial intelligence
KW  - stakeholder analysis
KW  - requirements extraction
AB  - Requirements elicitation is one of the most important steps in the software development process. It involves understanding what users and stakeholders need from a system before it is built. Traditionally, this has been done using methods like interviews, questionnaires, document reviews, and direct observation. These approaches work well in structured environments but often fall short when dealing with large, fast-changing, or agile projects. In recent years, software development has shifted toward more flexible and fast-paced practices. This change has also affected how requirements are gathered. New techniques now include collaborative tools, user feedback from online platforms, and the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and natural language processing (NLP) to extract requirements from text automatically. This paper presents a comparative narrative review based on recent literature and practical insights. It presents both traditional and modern requirements elicitation methods, comparing them in terms of how they work, where they are most useful, and what challenges they present. A detailed comparison highlights key differences such as level of user interaction, tool support, scalability, and suitability for ongoing development cycles. By reviewing recent research and real-world practices, this paper identifies current trends, challenges, and open areas for future work. The goal is to help researchers, software engineers, and project teams choose the most suitable elicitation methods based on their specific project needs. In the end, this review supports the idea that a flexible, hybrid approach-blending old and new techniques-may be the most effective way forward in today's evolving software engineering landscape.
SN  - 3069-1834
PB  - Institute of Central Computation and Knowledge
LA  - English
ER  -
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@article{Akhtar2025Requiremen,
  author = {Asma Akhtar and Samia Akhtar},
  title = {Requirements Elicitation in Transition: A Review of Conventional and Contemporary Approaches},
  journal = {ICCK Journal of Software Engineering},
  year = {2025},
  volume = {1},
  number = {1},
  pages = {32-45},
  doi = {10.62762/JSE.2025.862549},
  url = {https://www.icck.org/article/abs/JSE.2025.862549},
  abstract = {Requirements elicitation is one of the most important steps in the software development process. It involves understanding what users and stakeholders need from a system before it is built. Traditionally, this has been done using methods like interviews, questionnaires, document reviews, and direct observation. These approaches work well in structured environments but often fall short when dealing with large, fast-changing, or agile projects. In recent years, software development has shifted toward more flexible and fast-paced practices. This change has also affected how requirements are gathered. New techniques now include collaborative tools, user feedback from online platforms, and the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and natural language processing (NLP) to extract requirements from text automatically. This paper presents a comparative narrative review based on recent literature and practical insights. It presents both traditional and modern requirements elicitation methods, comparing them in terms of how they work, where they are most useful, and what challenges they present. A detailed comparison highlights key differences such as level of user interaction, tool support, scalability, and suitability for ongoing development cycles. By reviewing recent research and real-world practices, this paper identifies current trends, challenges, and open areas for future work. The goal is to help researchers, software engineers, and project teams choose the most suitable elicitation methods based on their specific project needs. In the end, this review supports the idea that a flexible, hybrid approach-blending old and new techniques-may be the most effective way forward in today's evolving software engineering landscape.},
  keywords = {requirements elicitation, software engineering, agile development, artificial intelligence, stakeholder analysis, requirements extraction},
  issn = {3069-1834},
  publisher = {Institute of Central Computation and Knowledge}
}

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