UML-based requirement modeling of Web online synchronous collaborative public participatory GIS

Abstract

This paper focuses on object-oriented software engineering (OOSE)-based software development life cycle (SDLC) for requirement analysis, design, and development of a Web collaborative public participatory geographic information system (PPGIS) (Co-PPGIS) infrastructure. Despite its importance, requirement engineering phase remains a neglected area in the geographical information system (GIS)-based SDLC. The absence of research and standardized requirement engineering (RE) process is more noticeable in the case of PPGIS applications, which are employed during municipality management, municipality planning, quick response, etc. This paper intends to introduce and suggest an OOSE standard requirement capturing model for the development of Web online Co-PPGIS. Using the unified modeling language (UML) Web-based Engineering (UWE) framework as the baseline, techniques for requirement elicitation, tailored for specific needs of synchronous collaborative PPGIS, are presented. Moreover, the requirement-gathering techniques range from checklists to creating user personas; the Web-based PPGIS aspect is handled through categorization of functional and non-functional requirements, including that of Web content and map visualization. Future work includes incorporation of UML-based requirement analysis and requirement validation techniques to complete the model. It is hoped with this research and better understanding of techniques and available methodology that requirement engineering practices will become widespread and contribute in adoption of a standardized RE process life cycle for PPGIS applications. Also, it is hypothesized that the Co-PPGIS would help to increase the degree to which the citizen, local bodies, environmental assessment, government agencies, and decision authorities work at the same time by using the single platform but at different locations with a lower cost and more effective real-time collaborative communication channels, partially due to the adoption of real-time geo-collaborative groupware technologies and OOSE-based requirement capturing methodology for the development of Co-PPGIS mapsharing mechanism.