Requirements are often a necessary yet less-than-thrilling precursor to the more exciting aspects of development. However, as projects grow in complexity and margins narrow, quality requirements become paramount to project success, regardless of their failure to elicit excitement. This pivotal shift has necessitated merging innovation and data fluency to develop a reshaping process for requirement methods.

Our pursuit is a deep understanding of the intricate dynamics within engineering and design. It demands comprehensive knowledge of how professionals interact with requirements, which is fundamental to fostering successful advancements. We’ve explored how professionals engage with their organizations’ technical requirements, their tool usage patterns, and project lifecycles, and investigate the underlying challenges and gaps.

Our findings highlight the significant role of requirements in development and how project characteristics influence their use. They explore interactions, challenges, and opportunities within requirements, providing a benchmark for future research. This survey offers unique, pertinent, and readily applicable insights across various industries.