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Interview Limitations

publish date: 2026/06/06 23:20:9.399920 UTC

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Interviews are good for gaining an overall understanding of a domain but are NOT effective for eliciting domain knowledge for two specific reasons. Which are those two reasons?

Interviews are always too expensive for most projects

Domain specialists use precise, subtle jargon that requirements engineers may misunderstand

Stakeholders are always unavailable for interviews

Some domain knowledge is so familiar to stakeholders that they assume it is obvious and don't mention it

Interviews can only be conducted face-to-face and never remotely

Correct Answer

(1) Domain specialists use precise, subtle jargon that requirements engineers may misunderstand

(2) Some domain knowledge is so familiar to stakeholders that they assume it is obvious and don't mention it

Explanation

Interviews struggle with domain knowledge for exactly two reasons: (1) Domain specialists use jargon in precise, subtle ways that requirements engineers may easily misunderstand. (2) Some domain knowledge is so fundamental that stakeholders assume it is common knowledge and never think to mention it.

Reference

Software Engineering, Ian Sommerville, 9th edition

Quizzes you can take where this question appears

Requirements Engineering: Full Review