Automatic Multi-Class Non-Functional Software Requirements Classification Using Machine Learning Algorithms

A successful software development process depends on software requirements. Those requirements are often classified into two categories: functional requirements (FR) and non-functional requirements (NFR). In software development, NFRs play a crucial role, but they are often forgotten by the developers. Therefore, it causes adverse consequences. As a result, an NFR classification method is required to assist software developers in classifying NFR from requirement documents. The majority of research in this area focuses on categorizing requirements as FR or NFR. However, NFR can be divided into more than two categories. As a result, a multi-label categorization strategy was required. This study presented an approach for categorizing NFR based on product, process, and external factors. To categorize the NFR, the authors developed four machine learning-based algorithms entitled Logistic Regression (LR), Support Vector Machine (SVM), Decision Tree (DT), and K Nearest Neighbor Classifier (KNN) classifier, as well as one deep learning method named Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) model. Ultimately, the authors examine the models and conclude that the LSTM model which gained an accuracy of 99.69% is appropriate for this type of classification.