Investigating Requirements Management Practices in a Proprietary Educational Software Ecosystem

• Paulo Malcher UNIRIO / UFRA
• Rodrigo Feitosa UNIRIO
• Juliana Costa Fernandes IFPI
• Emanuel Coutinho UFC
• Luis Rivero UFMA
• Davi Viana UFMA
• Rodrigo Pereira dos Santos UNIRIO

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5753/washes.2026.20800

Resumo

Software ecosystems (SECO) are dynamic environments where multiple actors develop products over a common technological platform. Requirements management (RM) in SECO is challenging due to multiple stakeholders, evolving relationships, and governance boundaries. This exploratory study investigates RM practices in a proprietary educational SECO, namely the SOLAR SECO, through semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders. The findings indicate the absence of a formal RM process and a reliance on informal practices, such as urgency-driven prioritization and communication-based traceability. These findings reinforce the need to balance coordination mechanisms and adaptability when structuring RM practices in proprietary SECO.

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