New Framework Prioritizes Human Connection Over Automation in Software Requirements Engineering

Researchers at the University of Victoria have developed a framework aimed at refocusing how software requirements are gathered and understood—placing human relationships and community engagement at the core rather than deferring to automated or AI-assisted processes.

The field of requirements engineering (RE)—the discipline of defining what a software system should do—has increasingly relied on automated elicitation methods. This trend, the authors argue, risks disconnecting the people designing systems from the cultural, social, and political realities that shape user needs, particularly marginalizing communities who depend most on socially consequential software.

The REConnect Framework#

The proposed REConnect framework emerges from qualitative analysis of 26 community-engaged software projects implemented between 2022 and 2025 through the INSPIRE program. These projects spanned geographically and culturally diverse settings: rural Nepal, urban Canada, and remote Arctic Canada.

Rather than treating requirements engineering as a technical extraction problem, REConnect anchors the work in three core principles:

• Building trusting relationships with stakeholders and affected communities
• Co-creating alongside rather than merely collecting input from users
• Empowering users as agents of change with genuine decision-making power

Each principle translates into concrete "REActions"—actionable steps designed to embed ongoing relational engagement throughout a project's full lifecycle.

AI's Role: Support, Not Replacement#

The researchers acknowledge that AI tools can accelerate certain RE activities. However, they argue that any AI integration must remain subordinate to participatory principles. The framework insists that human agency be preserved and that the voices of marginalized or excluded communities not be further sidelined in the name of efficiency.

The work positions REConnect as a means of achieving social sustainability in software—systems that genuinely align with community values and aspirations rather than imposing external definitions of need.