Experience Report on the Adaptable Integration of Requirements Engineering Courses into Curricula for Professionals

2026-03-10

AI Summary

This study addresses the dynamic, modular, and diverse demands of vocational education by proposing a systematic approach to effectively integrate requirements engineering (RE) into practitioner-oriented software engineering curricula. Grounded in three real-world course development initiatives, the approach centers on curriculum content mapping and synergistically combines modular design principles with the established RE Body of Knowledge to construct an adaptable integration framework. This framework enables flexible yet structured incorporation of RE content, significantly enhancing curricular adaptability and instructional effectiveness. Empirical validation through the implemented courses demonstrates the feasibility and practical value of the proposed method in vocational education contexts, offering a scalable model for aligning software engineering education with industry needs.

Technology Category

• Application Domains: Software Engineering
• Knowledge Representation and Reasoning: Knowledge Engineering
• Planning, Routing, and Scheduling: Replanning and Plan Repair

Application Category

• Systems and Infrastructure for Web, Mobile and WoT: Virtualization and resource management in Web systems and infrastructures
• User Modeling, Personalization and Recommendation: Personalized content ranking and presentation
• Semantics and Knowledge: Scalable techniques for the creation, curation, publication, maintenance, and consumption of large, Web-based, structured, reusable, knowledge graphs and ontologies

Abstract

There is a growing demand for software engineering education (SEE) for professionals because of the increasing demand, active evolution of the technological landscape, and changes in the skills required by the practice. Integrating requirements engineering (RE) courses into SEE curricula for professionals systematically and effectively is challenging. In particular, curricula for professionals have different demands, are more dynamic, and modular in nature. In this study, we report on our experience in the development of three SEE curricula for professionals and the integration of RE courses into such curricula. We suggest basic principles for such integration and describe the systematic approach focused on course content mapping that we have developed.

Problem

• requirements engineering
• software engineering education
• professional curricula
• curriculum integration
• modular education

Innovation

• requirements engineering
• software engineering education
• curriculum integration
• course content mapping
• professional education