Assessment of Systems Requirements Specification Skills Based on an Industry Body of Knowledge

Contribution - The acquisition of systems requirements knowledge and skills by systems developers is a desirable outcome of a STEM graduate program in technology management. In this paper, we assess whether the learning outcomes of such a STEM program are being met. We present a process to align the program curriculum with an industry-standard to ensure the acquisition of those competencies. Background - We selected the International Institute of Business Analysts (IIBA) as a vendor-neutral body of knowledge for the Business Analyst profession. We used a well-documented process to align a university curriculum to the industry needs, following earlier for project management and data analytics. Research questions - To align the curriculum to the IIBA BABOK (Business Analysis Body of Knowledge), we asked: (1) whether students graduating from the program had acquired good business analysis and systems requirements competencies; and (2) If they had not, how the curriculum may be modified to help students acquire those competencies. Methods - The curriculum was reviewed, and we assured proper topical coverage by pertinent course to the IIBA BABOK knowledge. Results - Using the existing curriculum, we found that most students were able to pass the assessment based on the IIAB BABOK. We identified some deficiencies by knowledge domain. The assessment results were sufficiently granular to make modifications to the curriculum and course contents to improve student’s acquisition of systems requirements specifications skills.