Eugenio MAURI MASTER SIC TP UE02 - Requirements Engineering

IAE Paris,

1/2/2011

Rsum of the article The three dimensions of Requirements Engineering

The purpose of this paper is to develop a framework for RE. The framework consists of three dimensions: 1. Specification dimension 2. Representation dimension 3. Agreement dimension This framework allows to classify the existing approaches to RE and their interrelationships become much clearer. Looking at the input to RE and the desired output, the three main characteristics of the process can be identified; this features lead to the three dimension of RE. Three main goals of RE can be identified: 1. improving an opaque system comprehension into a complete system spec 2. transforming informal knowledge into formal representations 3. gaining a common agreement on the specification out of personal views The purpose of RE is a complete specification of the system to be built. At the beginning of RE process, opaque personal views of the system exist, which are recorded using informal languages. The main characteristics of the desired output of RE process are a complete specification expressed using a formal language on which all people involved agree. Specification Dimension. Focusing on the specification dimension, the aim of RE is to transform the operational need into a complete system specification. A requirement should therefore state what a system should do (not how). Requirements can be functional (what the system must do) or non-functional (performance, design constraints, external interfaces, quality attributes). Requirements can also be divided in vital or desirable. Three approaches can support this dimension: 1. domain knowledge 2. reuse of specific knowledge 3. requirements validation Representation Dimension Three categories of representation exist: 1. informal 2. semi-formal 3. formal Nevertheless the representation language does not imply if a spec is vague or precise. Hence the representation dimension is orthogonal to the specification dimension. A vague imagination of the system can be expressed using a natural language, but also with a formal representation language. During RE process therefore different representation languages are used: at the beginning of the process the knowledge of the system is expressed using informal

representation, whereas at the end the representation must also be formally represented. The use of the three representations must be possible. Transformation from one format to another must also be possible. Agreement Dimension Several specification expressed in different formats may exist at the same time; coexistence of different views has positive effects on RE. Thus, allowing different views and supporting the evolution from the personal point of views to a common agreement on the final specification is the third main goal of RE. Different views, from different points of views, must be maintained. Support for detecting dissimilarities and inconsistencies between different views must be guaranteed. Support for collaboration, communication, discussions between people must be provided, to gain agreement.