User-Oriented Cloud Service Design Based on Market Research Technologies

For the IT industry, cloud computing has a disruptive effect, since it fundamentally changes how IT resources are produced, distributed, consumed, and priced. Designing cloud services remains a challenge, as the markets are very dynamic and cloud users are heterogeneous, locally distributed and not within the reach of the organization. This research-in-progress paper suggests the use of market research techniques, namely conjoint analysis, in the requirements elicitation process for cloud services. The contribution is a method component that extends existing requirements engineering methods. It supports cloud service providers in addressing specific questions of cloud service design: to analyse user preferences and the many trade-offs between different functional, non-functional and economic properties, to identify customer segments and develop tailored offerings, to analyse willingness-to-pay for specific features and to simulate market reactions of new designs