Requirements Engineering Elicitation for Mobility Assistance Dogs: Meeting Canine User Needs Through Technology Enabled Interpretation

Current requirements engineering methods are heavily reliant on verbal techniques, which are inaccessible to non-verbal users, such as mobility assistance dogs (MAD). Findings from a recent pilot study, conducted at a MAD training facility, show that the elicitation of canine stakeholder needs while in training is highly dependent on employee interpretation. This paper promotes the use of technology in support of meeting canine user needs, as suggested by the emerging field of Animal-Computer Interaction (ACI), by enabling trainers and employees to accurately elicit and interpret canine stakeholder requirements.