From Conceptual Modelling to Requirements Engineering

Requirements Engineering, 2002

The software production process involves a set of phases where a clear relationship and smooth transitions between them should be introduced. In this paper, a requirements engineering-based conceptual modeling approach is introduced as a way to improve the quality of the software production process. The aim of this approach is to provide a set of techniques and methods to capture software requirements and to provide a way to move from requirements to a conceptual schema in a traceable way. The approach combines a framework for requirements engineering (TRADE) and a graphical object-oriented method for conceptual modeling and code generation (OO-Method). The intended improvement of the software production process is accomplished by providing a precise methodological guidance to go from the user requirements (represented through the use of the appropriate TRADE techniques) to the conceptual schema that properly represents them (according to the conceptual constructs provided by the OO-Method). Additionally, as the OO-Method provides full model-based code generation features, this combination minimizes the time dedicated to obtaining the nal software product.

OOIS 2001, 2001

The creation of a development process is a challenging task. The application, customization and refinement of generic process models into fine-grained process steps suitable for a specific problem domain requires major work. This paper first reviews a generic framework for requirements engineering as well as a domain-specific framework. It then outlines some basic principles for a methodology that helps the process engineer develop a process model that considers domain knowledge, as well as constraints and priorities for a particular project. The methodology is called REPM (Requirements Engineering Process Model) and uses mathematical definitions to generate an initial process model to be refined in an iterative manner using the feedback of the process designer.

A major task in designing systems development is the systematic elaboration of functional system requirements and their integration into the environment of the overall technical system. The main challenge is to handle the versatile tasks of coordinating the communication and consolidation of the various stakeholder requirements of the different involved diciplines and derive a common definition of the system behavior, which is appropriate to the problem. The problem-and customer-related product definition must be consolidated with and integrated into the manifold requirements of the functional and technical system design. Accordingly, the model-based requirements analysis and system-definition presented here defines a well-structured modeling approach, which provides a basic model of RE work products (RE Product Model) and systematically guides the goal-oriented formulation and adjustment of the different stakeholder-requirements by using functional system views and descriptive specification techniques. Thus it allows a clear specification of a consistent and complete system design. The central steps of this approach are implemented in a requirements management (RM) tool prototype called AUTORAID.

MCIS 2008 Proceedings, 2008

The contribution of the requirements engineering in the success of projects is incontestable and it has been proved, through studies and statistics that succeed or fail a project depends generally on requirements engineering. This domain became the centre of interest of a big number of researchers to present the most adequate model and process to succeed the requirements engineering and so succeed the project. Requirements engineering is done according to a process spread all along the life cycle of the system and that aims to provide methods, technologies and tools allow developing and implanting some computing systems providing the services and the information expected by their users, demanded by their acquirers, and compatible with their functioning environment. Requirements engineering process is executed on three principals steps: First, the requirements elicitation to identify future system needs .Then, the specification and the requirements documentation validated or modified following a discussion between the different actors of the process. The end product which is an outfit of models that allows to take into account the actors' point of view, represent not only the final specifications but also the intermediate results. This permits having coherent and well structured documents. The validation and verification of the requirement specification is the final step. On this article, after a presentation of principal challenges that requirements engineering face and notably in specification step, we will define the fundamental notion of a role that will allow us to surround a system in all his perspectives : the organizational, the functional and even the intentional, etc. Then, after a study of some models of requirements engineering we will propose a model of process of requirements engineering with focusing on role notation and its participation in the different process steps.

Requirements Engineering, 1996

A framework for assessing research and practice in requirements engineering is proposed. The framework is used to survey state of the art research contributions and practice. The framework considers a task activity view o]" requirements, and elaborates different views of requirements engineering (RE) depending on the starting point of a system development. Another perspective is to analyse RE from different conceptions of products and their properties. RE research is examined within this framework and then placed in the context of how it extends current system development methods and systems analysis techniques.

2005

The main aim of this chapter is to present and discuss a set of modeling and specification techniques, in what concerns their ontology and support in the requirements representation of computer-based systems. A systematic classification of meta-models, also called models of computation, is presented. This topic is highly relevant since it supports the definition of sound specification methodologies in relation to the semantic definition of the modeling views to adopt for a given system. The usage and applicability of Unified Modeling Language (UML) diagrams is also related to their corresponding meta-models. A set of desirable characteristics for the specification methodologies is presented and justified to allow system designers and requirements engineers to more consciously define or choose a particular specification methodology. A heuristic-based approach to support the transformation of user into system requirements is suggested, with some graphical examples in UML notation.

This second edition follows quickly on the first edition and is an indication of how fast the subject is changing and developing. In the past two years there have been significant advances and these are reflected in this new edition.

1993

Reuse, system integration, and interoperability create a growing need for capturing, representing, and using application-level information about software-intensive systems and their evolution. In ESPRIT Basic Research Project NATURE, we are developing an integrative approach to requirements management based on a three-dimensional framework which addresses formalism as well as cognitive and social aspects. This leads to a new requirements process model which integrates human freedoms through allowing relatively free decisions in given situations. Classes of situations and decisions are defined with respect to the three-dimensional framework through the integration of informal and formal representations, theories of domain modeling, and the explicit consideration of nonfunctional requirements in teamwork. Technical support is provided by a conceptual modeling environment with knowledge acquisition through interactive as well as reverse modeling, and with similarity-based querying.

2011

The requirements elicitation process, whose main objective is to give birth to the requirements, not only is a technical process to build a particular system but also an important process of social connotations involving different people (stakeholders), a circumstance which causes certain problems arise when carrying out this process of requirement conceptualization. We propose a process of Requirements Conceptualization that are structured in two phases: (a) Problem-Oriented Analysis: aimed at understanding the problem given by the user in the domain in which this takes place, and (b) Product-Oriented Analysis: its aim is to obtain the functionalities that the user intends to obtain from the software product to be developed, taking into account the relationship of these features with the reality expressed by the user in his speech. Two proofs of concepts are given for the Problem-Oriented Analysis Phase and the Product-Oriented Analysis Phase.

2011

Requirements modeling has been applied in CASE technologies to formalize knowledge needed for constructing models of information systems. The problem is to acquire knowledge from requirements texts and represent it as intermediate requirements model for entity-relationships or object oriented modeling. Proposed approach is based on formalization of entities and their attributes as formal contexts. It is shown that formal contexts created on the set of conceptual graphs extracted from requirements text may serve as data source for requirements models have been applied in real CASE technologies.