Eliciting futuristic end-user requirements through contributory appreciative inquiry

The phase of requirements elicitation is specifically important due to its widespread impact on the succeeding phases of software development. Elicitation of requirements from varying perspectives is an active research issue concerning the researchers and practitioners for decades. The aim of this research study is to strengthen and optimize the elicitation of `futuristic requirements´ by proposing a technique named as, `Contributory Appreciative Inquiry´. The technique is based on philosophy of appreciative perspective rather than deficit based perspective. The technique along with various constituents and building components is presented. Afterwards a comprehensive comparative analysis is conducted to evaluate its performance in comparison to other competing techniques. Results indicate a marked improvement in eliciting futuristic and unique requirements as compared to Observation, Interviewing, Brainstorming and Appreciative Inquiry itself.