Investigating the Suitability of Agile Methods for Requirements Development of Home Care Systems (Report‪)‬

1. Introduction According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the population of over 60s in developing countries is expected to triple from "400 million to 1.7 billion" over the next forty years [1]. Rising healthcare costs and lack of resources in terms of hospitals and the availability of skilled doctors and nurses mean that by 2050, this situation will become unsustainable. In Ireland 11% of the population is currently over 65 and this is expected to double over the next 25 years, in particular a threefold increase in those aged 80 and above is expected [2]. Accommodating the ageing population is and will continue to be an increasing challenge. For example, Technology Research for Independent Living (TRIL) report that 40% of older people are prematurely institutionalised due to injuries sustained from falls in the home [3]. In general it is beneficial to develop alternative approaches to prevent or delay the institutionalisation of older people, enabling the elderly to remain at home. This has subsequently required an increase in the need to develop HCS.