Requirements engineering

Requirements engineering (RE) is the systematic process of identifying, documenting, analysing, and managing the needs and constraints that a software system must satisfy. It encompasses elicitation techniques (interviews, workshops, prototyping, observation), specification formats, validation methods, and ongoing management of requirements throughout the development lifecycle. In accessibility contexts, RE practices face a critical gap: conventional elicitation presupposes users who can directly articulate their needs, which excludes people with cognitive, communication, or intellectual disabilities. Inclusive RE extends the discipline by incorporating proxy stakeholders, participatory co-design, and treating inclusivity as a formal quality attribute—now recognised in ISO/IEC 25010:2023—rather than a post-hoc design concern.