diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 3c7812184b91986e88b2efc21423ae8c36e668ee..6072889d4a7559590149956fd12289bb006179a3 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -21,26 +21,38 @@ This application was created by Eike Cochu for his master's degree thesis in com
 
 ## Development
 
-### Requirements
-
-Run dependencies
-
-* [Java (8+)](https://www.java.com/)
-* [MongoDB (2.6+)](https://www.mongodb.org/)
-* [ElasticSearch (2.1+)](https://www.elastic.co/products/elasticsearch)
-* [DynamicDTM](https://code.google.com/archive/p/princeton-statistical-learning/downloads)
-* JavaEE Application Server, e.g. [Tomcat (8+)](https://tomcat.apache.org/)
-
-Additional build dependencies
-
-* [Maven (3+)](https://maven.apache.org/)
-* [Gulp (3.9+)](http://gulpjs.com/)
-* [Bower (1.7+)](http://bower.io/)
-
-### Build
-
-1. Clone this repository to `./vipra`
-2. Navigate to `./vipra`
-3. Execute `./build.sh` to build all projects
-4. Copy `vipra-backend/target/vipra.war` to your JavaEE application server
-5. Test connections by running `./vipra -t`
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+The following steps were reproduced in that order on a fully updated Ubuntu 15.10 virtual system to create a fully operational development environment for the Vipra projects. These steps are only required for project development. If you want to create a virtual machine for development, create a hard drive with at least 10 GB in size. 
+
+1. Install **required libraries and tools**
+    ```bash
+    sudo apt-get install openjdk-8-jdk mongodb git nodejs npm maven tomcat8
+    ```
+    
+    if watchman will be used (see below) additional packages are required for building watchman from source
+    ```bash
+    build-essential autoconf automake python-dev
+    ```
+
+2. Install **required node packages** for frontend development
+    ```bash
+    sudo npm install -g bower gulp
+    ```
+
+3. Build and install **watchman**. This step is optional but recommended, as nodejs watchers are less performant. This is only required if the `gulp watch` command will be used to continuously rebuild the frontend project assets.
+    ```bash
+    git clone https://github.com/facebook/watchman.git
+    cd watchman
+    ./autogen.sh
+    ./configure
+    make
+    sudo make install
+    ```
+
+4. Install **eclipse**. A different Java development IDE (or none at all) can be used, but the Vipra projects are made with eclipse and come with settings and run configurations. Install the M2Eclipse plugin for maven support in eclipse, if not yet installed. The plugin will download the required project dependencies and manage the project configurations, build versioning and packaging.
+
+5. Clone the project repository and build the projects
+    ```bash
+    git clone https://somerepo.url/vipra.git
+    cd vipra
+    ./build.sh
+    ```
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