Understanding requirements changes in software development and their influence on practitioners

Requirements Changes (RCs) such as feature requests are inevitable in software development. RCs are multi-faceted. They have different types, forms, reasons, sources, carriers, and events where they originate. RCs not only pose a risk to the cost, quality, and schedule of the software projects but also result in negative responses from software practitioners involved in the RC handling life cycle, e.g.: anxiety, fatigue or even anger! By elaborating on the multi-faceted nature of RCs, software practitioners’ emotional responses and how they use their emotional intelligence during RC handling, this thesis presents knowledge and practical recommendations to better handle RCs.