  Background: Requirements changes (RCs) are inevitable in Software
Engineering. Research shows that emotional intelligence (EI) should be used
alongside agility and cognitive intelligence during RC handling. Objective: We
wanted to study the role of EI in-depth during RC handling. Method: We
conducted a socio-technical grounded theory study with eighteen software
practitioners from Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, and Sri Lanka. Findings:
We found causal condition (software practitioners handling RCs), intervening
condition (mode of work), causes (being aware of own emotions, being aware of
others' emotions), direct consequences (regulating own emotions, managing
relationships), extended consequences (sustaining productivity, setting and
sustaining team goals), and contingencies: strategies (open and regular
communication, tracking commitments and issues, and ten other strategies) of
using EI during RC handling. We also found the covariances where strategies
co-vary with the causes and direct consequences, and ease/ difficulty in
executing strategies co-vary with the intervening condition. Conclusion: Open
and regular communication is key to EI during RC handling. To the best of our
knowledge, the framework we present in this paper is the first theoretical
framework on EI in Software Engineering research. We provide recommendations
including a problem-solution chart in the form of causes, direct consequences,
and mode of work against the contingencies: strategies for software
practitioners to consider during RC handling, and future directions of
research.
