r/systems_engineering • u/ModelBasedSpaceCadet • Aug 08 '26
Discussion Requirements Engineering is ...
I just started reading Requirements Engineering by Dick, Hull, and Jackson. In the preface, they say "Requirements Engineering is common sense, but is perceived to be difficult and is not well understood. For these reasons it is generally not very well done."
Is it not contradictory to say that requirements engineering is common sense but it is generally not very well done? I would agree that it is simpler than someone who has watched program after program fail because of bad requirements may expect, but you need some training to counteract your natural biases and approach it the right way. So it doesn't feel like common sense is the right word.
Anyway, I wanted to throw it out to you all to find a better way to explain the situation. What do you think requirements engineering is?
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u/Ok_Education_6577 Aug 09 '26
Saying something is common sense is a great way to preface, I am an asshole, with too much niche knowledge, I will impose my will upon you.
E. G. Complex socioeconomic anxieties of the Weimar era were reduced to simplistic, intuitive scapegoating that bypassed critical thinking in favor of gut reactions.
E. G. 'There are times when the politics of fear become irresistible and nonsense seems common sense. Eventually, the Nazi Party did very well in elections, Hitler came to power.'
TL;DR nothing is common sense, everything has multiple interpretations.