Bridging the communication gap : a pilot course on interdisciplinary requirements engineering

Teaching the practical aspects of requirements engineering is challenging due to the lack of effective tools, methods, and practices for teaching requirements elicitation, especially for novices. The research community has proposed various solutions to measure the effectiveness of elicitation techniques, such as interviews. However, there is limited research on teaching experiences that address both technical and communication skills. To address this, we implemented an innovative interdisciplinary pilot course for final-year computer science and applied linguistics students at our university. Linguistics students conceptualized a language learning application, acting as the stakeholders, while computer science students elicited requirements through interviews. This collaboration provided realistic stakeholder interaction and insight into the software development process for linguistics students. This paper details the setup of the interdisciplinary pilot course, presents the course evaluation results, and shares the lessons learned from this unique educational endeavor.