Keynote by Markus Meuten

A FAREWELL OR A NEW DIRECTION? The future of requirements engineering in the agile era

In our increasingly volatile and fast-paced technology world, requirements engineering (RE) remains an essential cornerstone in the development of software and system projects. However, the question arises: What does the future of RE look like in the agile world?

Our complex and constantly changing technology landscape requires an evolutionary reorientation of RE that goes beyond the mere formulation of user stories. As each solution development faces individual challenges such as cultural differences, legal constraints and risk management, we need a more sophisticated approach. The challenge here is to strike a balance between agility and stability to both respond quickly to change and maintain complexity and quality of requirements.

In this talk, the public available Req42 framework will be introduced as a helping hand - an experience based approach that meets these requirements and aims to shift the focus from output to outcome. Using this framework, we will explore how a proactive and results-oriented approach to RE in the agile world can contribute to the success of projects.

With a humorous look at the tension between RE and agility, we will uncover why “agile requirements engineering” is not a contradiction but rather an opportunity to positively influence and optimize collaboration between both worlds.

Speaker Bio

Picture of Markus Meuten

Markus Meuten (LinkedIn profile), an agile coach and trainer with extensive experience, specializes in agile product development, focusing on requirements engineering, business process modeling, and optimization, along with educating product owners and managers. His expertise, rooted in advanced training from industry luminaries like Ken Schwaber, Dr. Jeff Sutherland, Dean Leffingwell, Jeff Patton, and and others, is applied in numerous international projects.

Beginning his career as a Business Analyst and Requirements Manager, Markus transitioned through roles as Scrum Master and Product Owner, evolving into an Agile Coach. This journey has equipped him with a profound understanding of the challenges in agile product development, enabling him to offer practical solutions.

Additionally, Markus plays a key role in the International Requirements Engineering Board (IREB), contributing as a working group leader and assessor. His work with IREB influences standards in requirements engineering and fosters industry best practices.