Hybrid domain representation archive (HyDRA) : viewpoint-oriented requirements analysis

Abstract

The creation of a requirements model (explicitly representing functional, data, and timing requirements) typically involves accommodating viewpoints from multiple system stakeholders (e.g. multiple end-users and system maintainers). Viewpoint-oriented requirements analysis methods have been proposed by other researchers to ensure the capture of requirements imposed by all user perspectives. However, domain-modeling methodologies and CASE tools poorly address how to construct a single model given input from a variety of sources and how to maintain traceability through the synthesis process. Rather than making incremental changes to a single requirements model in response to new information, this work suggests the creation of independent models to capture the input from each viewpoint. This research provides a semi-automated method of resolving the differences between viewpoints and producing a single, traceable requirements model that embodies the merged viewpoints. Computer assistance includes the detection of consistency and completeness conflicts, the enactment of conflict resolutions, the maintenance of traceability information, and the gathering of statistics regarding the content and resolution of viewpoints. This data can provide previously unavailable insight into the progress of the requirements acquisition process and characteristics of the domain. A case study is presented to demonstrate the method and the usefulness of gathered data to software engineers and software development managers.