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

Source: arXiv - 2603.09467v1

Overview

The paper presents an experience report on how three university‑level software engineering (SEE) curricula for working professionals were built and how Requirements Engineering (RE) courses were woven into them. Because professional training programs must stay agile, modular, and responsive to industry trends, the authors propose a systematic, content‑mapping approach that helps curriculum designers integrate RE without disrupting the overall learning flow.

Key Contributions

• A set of guiding principles for integrating RE into professional SEE curricula (e.g., modularity, alignment with industry needs, and incremental learning).
• A systematic content‑mapping method that matches RE learning objectives to existing curriculum modules, ensuring minimal overlap and maximal relevance.
• Three concrete curriculum case studies (different institutions, varying program lengths) that illustrate how the approach works in practice.
• A reusable “integration toolbox” (templates, checklists, and mapping matrices) that other educators can adopt or adapt for their own programs.

Methodology

1. Curriculum Landscape Analysis – The authors first cataloged the existing SEE modules (e.g., software design, testing, project management) across the three programs.
2. Stakeholder Interviews – Practitioners, industry partners, and faculty were consulted to surface the most pressing RE skills (elicitation, modeling, validation, etc.).
3. Content Mapping – Using a spreadsheet‑based matrix, each RE learning outcome was linked to one or more existing modules, identifying where new RE content could be inserted, merged, or replaced.
4. Iterative Prototyping – Draft curricula were piloted with a small cohort of professionals; feedback loops refined the placement and depth of RE topics.
5. Documentation & Tooling – The final integration process was captured in reusable artifacts (templates, decision trees) that other programs can follow.

The approach is deliberately low‑tech (spreadsheets, workshops) so that it can be adopted by institutions without heavy tooling investments.

Results & Findings

• Successful Integration – All three curricula incorporated RE modules without extending program length, thanks to careful overlap elimination and modular sequencing.
• Positive Learner Feedback – Participants reported higher confidence in handling real‑world requirement challenges (e.g., ambiguous stakeholder needs) compared to prior cohorts lacking the RE focus.
• Industry Validation – Partner companies noted improved communication between developers and product owners from graduates of the updated programs.
• Scalability – The content‑mapping matrix proved reusable across programs of different sizes and focus areas, indicating the method’s general applicability.

Practical Implications

• For Training Providers – The paper offers a ready‑to‑use framework to enrich existing professional SEE bootcamps or micro‑credential tracks with RE content, without inflating course duration.
• For Developers & Teams – Graduates from such curricula bring a more disciplined RE mindset, reducing costly rework and misaligned features in agile or DevOps environments.
• For Tool Vendors – The modular RE blocks can be packaged as “plug‑and‑play” learning units that integrate with LMS platforms, enabling rapid curriculum updates as RE practices evolve.
• For Industry‑Academia Partnerships – The stakeholder‑driven mapping process creates a concrete feedback loop, ensuring that training stays aligned with the latest market demands (e.g., AI‑augmented requirement analysis).

Limitations & Future Work

• Context Specificity – The three case studies stem from European universities; cultural or regulatory differences may affect transferability to other regions.
• Short‑Term Evaluation – Learner outcomes were measured only up to the end of the program; long‑term impact on job performance remains untracked.
• Tooling Simplicity – While the spreadsheet approach is accessible, it may not scale well for very large curricula or for institutions seeking automated curriculum management.

Future research directions include longitudinal studies on career impact, extending the method to other SE sub‑domains (e.g., security engineering), and developing a lightweight software tool to support the content‑mapping workflow.

Authors

• Oleksandr Kosenkov
• Konstantin Blaschke
• Tony Gorschek
• Michael Unterkalmsteiner
• Oleksandr Adamov
• Davide Fucci

Paper Information

• arXiv ID: 2603.09467v1
• Categories: cs.SE
• Published: March 10, 2026
• PDF: Download PDF