A Benchmarking-Based Requirement Analysis Methodology for Improving Web Sites

Abstract

Benchmarking is a critical activity in Web site development and has been employed for requirement analysis in a variety of Web site renewal and development projects. By comparing their current Web site with competitors' cutting-edge sites, managers can attain improvement in quality. Despite the importance and popularity of benchmarking, however, the literature sheds little light on the incorporation of its techniques into Web site improvement methodologies. This paper proposes a benchmarking-based requirement analysis methodology coupled with a goal-driven approach. The methodology works through three phases-elicitation, analysis, and specification-to seamlessly link business requirements to implementation details. Use cases are employed to capture functional requirements. Web sites are investigated in terms of usability to sharpen nonfunctional requirements. The usefulness of the methodology is demonstrated by applying it to improve a real-life Web site.