Terminology as the Basis for Building Engineering Feature-based Models

Abstract

Satellite operations require the combined use of different tools to support engineering activities and to control the spacecraft. This communication is managed by the Monitoring and Control System (MCS) that receives telemetry data from the spacecraft and releases telecommands to keep the satellite’s attitude and flight path. These complex systems are developed as open platforms that can be extended and customised to support mission-specific requirements and objectives. As a general rule, it can be stated that these software applications are good candidates for implementing variability mechanisms in a structured, planned way and that their functionality is a good candidate to analyse the feasibility of applying feature-based modelling techniques. This paper describes the use of terminology analysis to build a feature model to support requirements analysis for this type of software-based systems.