Cross-Project Multiclass Classification of EARS-Based Functional Requirements Utilizing Natural Language Processing, Machine Learning, and Deep Learning

Touseef Tahir, Hamid Jahankhani, Kinza Tasleem, Bilal Hassan

Software requirements are primarily classified into functional and non-functional requirements. While research has explored automated multiclass classification of non-functional requirements, functional requirements remain largely unexplored. This study addressed that gap by introducing a comprehensive dataset comprising 9529 functional requirements from 315 diverse projects. The requirements are classified into five categories: ubiquitous, event-driven, state-driven, unwanted behavior, and optional capabilities. Natural Language Processing (NLP), machine learning (ML), and deep learning (DL) techniques are employed to enable automated classification. All software requirements underwent several procedures, including normalization and feature extraction techniques such as TF-IDF. A series of Machine learning (ML) and deep learning (DL) experiments were conducted to classify subcategories of functional requirements. Among the trained models, the convolutional neural network achieved the highest performance, with an accuracy of 93, followed by the long short-term memory network with an accuracy of 92, outperforming traditional decision-tree-based methods. This work offers a foundation for precise requirement classification tools by providing both the dataset and an automated classification approach.