1. Common understanding of terminology
and usage of widely acknowledged
techniques and methods
- key factors for successful
Requirements Engineering
Stefan Sturm IREB GmbH

2. Common terminology, techniques and methods
Why do we need it?
Imagine a scenario with
• 600+ products (applications)
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• 10.000+ employees in IT
• Projects from 1 month to 25+ years
• Application Lifecycle between 3 Months and 10years+
• An integrated tool chain with 10+ independed tools from different vendors
• Continued change of the products with interrupts up to several years
• Subsidiaries in Europe, Asia, Americas
International Requirements Engineering Board e. V. page 2

3. Common terminology, techniques and methods
Why do we need it?
• Different implementation of Requirements Engineering
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• At customers, suppliers, partners
• in distributed teams at different locations, offshore, near shore
• in different industrial sectors
• Different skill levels
• Many practitioners do not have an education in
systems/software engineering
International Requirements Engineering Board e. V. page 3

4. Common terminology, techniques and methods
Why do we need it?
• Problems in communication due to
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• different languages
• different cultures (ethnological and company specific)
• Misunderstanding of “agile”
• Elicitation of requirements is underestimated
• Documentation and traceability of requirements is
neglected
International Requirements Engineering Board e. V. page 4

5. Requirements Engineering Certification
How does it help?
• Creation of an international agreed basis for training
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• Training Providers align their trainings to a “standard” – the
syllabus of the certificate
• Common definition of terminology to improve communication
and Know-How transfer
• Companies invest in education
• as the certification fits into career paths
• as trainings are aligned to a common standard
International Requirements Engineering Board e. V. page 5

6. Certification
Goals of the IREB and the CPRE
Common foundation for the education
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in the field of RE - Worldwide
The CPRE
Improving the use of
Goals and implementation
of RE
Creation of an international understanding and
basis for communication about RE
International Requirements Engineering Board e. V. page 6

7. The certification model
Certification levels
CPRE Foundation Level
• Fundamental understanding of domain,
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methodology and available techniques
The CPRE
CPRE Advanced Level
• Mastering and using methods and techniques
• Specialization in one or more modules:
• Requirements Elicitation and Consolidation – released in 2011
• Requirements Modeling – released in 2011
• Requirements Management – in progress
• Business Analysis – in progress
……
CPRE Expert Level
International Requirements Engineering Board e. V. page 7

8. Success story
Examinee numbers since inception
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The CPRE
Over 10,300 Examinees in total – worldwide!
International Requirements Engineering Board e. V. page 8

9. Success story
IREB worldwide in 30 countries
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The CPRE
Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Columbia, Denmark, Ecuador, Egypt,
Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hong Kong, India, Luxembourg, Malaysia,
Mexico, New Zealand, Poland, Romania, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sudan,
Sweden, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Ukraine, USA, Venezuela
International Requirements Engineering Board e. V. page 9

10. Success story
IREB worldwide
Finland Sweden
Belgium
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Denmark United Kingdom
The CPRE
Poland Ukraine
The Netherlands
Germany Romania
USA
Switzerland Bulgaria
France Egypt India
Mexico South Korea
Spain Sudan
Colombia Malaysia
Austria
Ecuador Hong Kong
Venezuela
Australia
Singapore
Brazil
South Africa New Zealand
International Requirements Engineering Board e. V. page 10

11. International Requirements Engineering
Board (IREB) e. V.
 Members of the board
• Personal board members:
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Renown experts from industry,
The CPRE
research, consulting and
education
• Supporting Members: Committed
persons in the field of
Requirements Engineering
 Activities of the board
• Elaboration of the curriculum, glossary and exams for the
„Certified Professional for Requirements Engineering“
• Translations of the artifacts: English, French, German,
Spanish, Portuguese (Brazil)
• Publishing of articles, textbooks and references
International Requirements Engineering Board e. V. page 11

12. IREB e. V. – the personal members
Experts from industry, research, consulting and education
1st Chairperson: Prof. Dr. Klaus Pohl
Colin Hood
Chris Rupp University of
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Free Consultant
SOPHIST GmbH Duisburg-Essen
2nd Chairperson: Dr. Peter Hruschka
Prof. Dr. Barbara Paech
Rainer Grau The Atlantic Systems
University of Heidelberg
Zühlke Engineering AG Guild
Suzanne Robertson
Treasurer:
Dr. Frank Houdek The Atlantic Systems
Karol Frühauf
Daimler AG Guild
INFOGEM AG
Prof. Dr. Martin Glinz Emmerich Fuchs Dr. Camille Salinesi
Unversity of Zurich Fuchs Informatik AG Université Paris 1
International Requirements Engineering Board e. V. page 12

13. Workgroups and Supporting Members
The work of the IREB
Elaboration of the Elaboration of the
Advanced Level Foundation Level
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The CPRE
curriculi curriculum
Workgroups /
Supporting Members
Marketing Internationalization
Translation of glossary, syllabi
and exams
Exam and exam questions for
Foundation and Advanced Level
…
International Requirements Engineering Board e. V. page 13

14. The parties involved with CPRE
Certification bodies and training providers
IREB GmbH Training Providers
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The CPRE
International
Requirements IREB GmbH
Trainees /
Engineering Examinees
Board (IREB)
IREB GmbH
Certification Bodies
Allocation of tasks to clearly separated and independent organizations
ensures fairness and neutrality!
International Requirements Engineering Board e. V. page 14

15. IREB GmbH
The operating company of IREB e.V.
• Facts
– Starting on April, 1st 2011
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– All shares hold by IREB e.V.
– Located in Karlsruhe (Germany)
• Activities
– Organizational support for the board, workgroups and
supporting members
– Coordination of IREB tasks like
• Elaboration of the curriculum and the exam questions for the
„Certified Professional for Requirements Engineering“
• Coordination and organization of training providers and
certification bodies
• Marketing of the CPRE certificate
• Press and media releases
• Publishing of articles
International Requirements Engineering Board e. V. page 15

16. Responsibilities of the involved
IREB e.V. – the board
 Responsibilities of the
IREB e.V.
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• Elaboration of the curriculum
The CPRE
• Design of the exam questions
 Responsibilities of the IREB GmbH
on behalf of IREB e.V.
• Contracting training providers and certifying bodies
• Contact for
o Contents of the curriculum
o The internationalization of the CPRE
o Validity of certificates
o Training providers and certifying bodies
International Requirements Engineering Board e. V. page 16

17. Responsibilities of the involved
Certification bodies
 Responsibilities of certifying bodies
• Organization of certifications
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• Carrying out certifications
The CPRE
• Evaluation of certifications
• Mailing certificates
 Contact for questions about
• Certification dates
• Details about the exam
• Testing locations
• Exam results
International Requirements Engineering Board e. V. page 17

18. Responsibilities of the involved
Training providers
 Responsibilities of training providers
• Hold trainings
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• If necessary, negotiate the exam dates with
The CPRE
certifying bodies
 Contact for questions about
• Details about trainings
• Content of trainings
• Training dates
International Requirements Engineering Board e. V. page 18

19. The training providers
Current list
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20. The syllabi of the CPRE
Foundation Level
 Fundamentals

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Scope and system context
The CPRE
 Eliciting requirements
 Documenting requirements in natural language
 Model-based requirements documentation
 Requirements negotiation and consolidation
 Managing requirements
 Tool support
International Requirements Engineering Board e. V. page 20

21. The syllabi of the CPRE
Advanced Level
 Released Modules
• Requirements Elicitation & Consolidation, March 1St 2011
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• Requirements Modeling, March 1St 2011
The CPRE
 Modules in work
• Business Analysis, planned for 2012
• Requirements Management, planned for 2013
 Languages
• Currently German only, English after approx. 100 exams
• Requirements Elicitation & Consolidation planned end of
2012
International Requirements Engineering Board e. V. page 21

22. The exams of the CPRE
 Foundation level
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• Multiple choice questionnaire
The CPRE
 Advanced level
• Multiple choice questionnaire
• Homework, 2-3 days of effort
International Requirements Engineering Board e. V. page 22

23. The exams of the CPRE
Foundation Level
 Duration: 75 minutes – 15 minutes extension for
non native speakers
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 45 Multiple Choice questions
The CPRE
 Each question yields 1 to 3 points
 60% of the points needed to pass
 Three different types of questions:
• Pick one correct answer
• Pick two or more correct answers
• Decide for each answer whether it is true/false,
correct/incorrect…..
 Incorrect checked answers lead to a deduction of
points! Not all choices need to be taken!
International Requirements Engineering Board e. V. page 23

24. The exams of the CPRE
Advanced Level
 Step one: MC exam as in
 Step two: Elaboration of a homework
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• Description of a complex project according to the
The CPRE
context of the syllabus.
• Detailed justification of the chosen techniques and
documentation forms
• Size and format of deliverables depending on AL
module
• Estimated effort: Two days
• Submission 90 days after registration
International Requirements Engineering Board e. V. page 24

25. The book for the CPRE
Covering the essentials
 The textbook to go with the
Foundation Level CPRE
certificate
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The CPRE
 Goal-oriented preparation
for the certification exam
 Equates CPRE (FL)
Syllabus 2.1
 Klaus Pohl / Chris Rupp
1st edition, Rocky Nook
192 pages, 30 April 2011
ISBN 978-1933952819
International Requirements Engineering Board e. V. page 25

26. Discussion
Thank you for your attention
and the opportunity to
present IREB and it’s
mission to SIREN!
Stefan.Sturm@certified-re.de
International Requirements Engineering Board e. V. page 26

27. Picture credits
By iStockphoto.com
• Job Review by matzaball
• adult education: addressing the issue by Track5
• team award by sturti
• Business Team Meeting by jhorrocks
• Successful business team working by Skynesher
International Requirements Engineering Board e. V.