In small-scale software development organizations, software engineers are beginning to realize the significance of adapting software development methods according to project conditions. There is a requirement to proliferate this know-how to other developers, who may be facing the same settings/context, so that they too can benefit from others' experiences. In this paper, the application of situational method engineering in requirements elicitation phase is investigated. A novel, simple and dynamic web-based tool, Situational Requirement Method System (SRMS), is developed which can aid in conception/formulation, repository, and elicitation/derivation of methods related with this stage. The proposed approach and tool are validated by distributing a questionnaire among software professionals working in large software companies, and making SRMS accessible to them. The results indicate that a majority of the participants finds SRMS useful and provides various suggestions to improve it.

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Software developers have been successfully tailoring software development methods according to the project situation and more so in small scale software development organizations. There is a need to share this knowledge with other developers who may be facing the same project situation so that they can benefit from other people experiences. In this paper, an approach to enhance cooperation among software developers, in terms of sharing the knowledge that was used successfully in past projects, is proposed. A web-based tool is developed that can assist in creation, storage and extraction of methods related with requirement elicitation phase. These methods are categorized according to certain criteria which helps in searching a method that will be most appropriate in a given project situation. This approach and tool can also be used for other software development activities.