Software Requirements Definition Research Articles

VERBAL DESCRIPTION OF THE TECHNOLOGY FOR PLANNING THE QUALITY IMPROVEMENT OF A SUBSET OF THE PROCESSES OF THE SPICE MATURITY REFERENCE MODEL

It is noted that to solve the problem of developing information technology for planning the increase of maturity level of a subset of the processes of the SPICE reference maturity model, this issue must first be considered at the verbal level as a technology (sequence of stages) for the implementation of the given problem. At the first stage, the structure of the SPICE reference model, which consists of a number of separate processes, was formalized. This set is presented as a hierarchical structure: the first level is a set of processes and subprocesses; the second level is a set of process groups; the third level is a set of process categories. At the second stage, the method of assessing the level of possibility of a separate process/sub-process of the reference maturity model SPICE is considered. It is given from the point of view of two dimensions of the SPICE model: the purpose of the processes; the attributes of the processes (measurable characteristics necessary for managing the process and increasing the possibility of its execution). The third stage of the technology is focused on the synthesis of planning model of the subset development processes for the SPICE model, which determines the quality level of a separate component of the software development process (SDP), which in turn has a positive effect on the level of development of software systems. Assessment and planning of the possibility level of a subset of processes is implemented during a certain planning period under conditions of limited resources based on their optimal distribution, taking into account the importance of individual processes and their practices during the planning period. At the fourth stage of the technology, an algorithm for planning the development of a subset of processes of the reference maturity model SPICE is considered based on the method of sequential analysis of options. This is primarily due to the fact that the optimization model has an additive objective function. The method allows discarding those appropriate solutions that do not contain optimal solutions. In the future, when specifying the model, it is planned to choose an algorithm that belongs to this method and adapt it to the solution of the given problem. The fifth stage is devoted to information technology implementation of the developed model and algorithm. At this stage, the following set of problems is solved. Analysis of business processes of the technology of improving the quality of software development process. Definition of software requirements. Forming a diagram of use cases. Development of data models. Justification of the choice of tools for software development. Selection of reference system architecture. Next, software coding and testing. At the sixth stage, based on information technology, a number of variants of the plan for improving the quality of a subset of the processes of the SPICE maturity model are formed in order to support decision-making by the management of the IT company. For this, a set of effective solutions is preliminarily determined, which is proposed to determine the final option, which is implemented later.

Clinical risk evaluation of medical device software: an axiomatic design-based methodology

The increasing complexity of medical device (MD) management software requires the adoption of new methodological approaches that pay particular attention to safety issues. The risk analysis is one of the key activities to be carried out by the manufacturer before the development of the software application as it determines the type of documentation to be provided as well as the activities to be performed to place the MD on the market. After the definition of software requirements and their iterative transformation into architectural items and/or units, the manufacturer defines the safety class of each item. The adoption of an axiomatic design approach facilitates this process. This combination of techniques helps to focus the design of medical device software on non-conformities with a clear link to clinical risk. This objective can be achieved by assessing the complexity of the system to be designed, both in terms of its functional size, and as a level of overall clinical risk. In this multi-dimensional perspective, the software effort expressed in function points provides an estimate of the development cost. While the clinical risk analysis allows to quickly identify critical areas, to intervene with the same promptness and to draft a management plan according to the regulations of the various control authorities.

Green software requirements and measurement: random decision forests-based software energy consumption profiling

This paper proposes an explicit definition of green software requirements and a tool to support their evaluation . The proposed evaluation tool describes the green efficiency by considering the energy consumption as the main aspect to be studied during the development stage. This approach consists of building a multiple regression model, by using a supervised learning algorithm, in order to reproduce the energy consumption pattern of devices at different workload circumstances. The energy consumption model is then deployed to estimate the impact of software applications based on their resource usage. Our work has been validated on desktop and mobile devices. The experiments show the effectiveness of the proposed energy profiling tool that provided relevant information on the energy consumption of software applications.

A group support system process for the definition of software requirements

The definition of software requirements in the early phases of the software innovation process is considered to be an extremely important and challenging task, as decisions about precisely what will be developed are made during this stage. This paper presents a Group Support System (GSS) process for the definition of software requirements, and studies the usability of a GSS as a tool for requirements definition. The developed process was validated in a telecommunications company, and the study shows that requirements definition was expedited and more effective with the GSS-supported process compared to the traditional methods used in the case company.

The new European software guide for legal metrology: Basic principles

The European guideline WELMEC 7.2 ''Software Guide (Measuring Instruments Directive 2004/22/EC)'' has recently been adopted. It contains requirements and validation recommendations for software in measuring instruments subject to regulations in the Measuring Instruments Directive (MID). The definition of software requirements is derived from essential MID requirements and is based on type-independent configurations of instruments and on risk classes. The definition is completed by instrument-specific requirements. Configurations of measuring instruments are divided into basic configurations of measuring instruments and extended IT configurations. Furthermore, the requirements are differentiated according to risk classes introduced in the guide. The methodology developed is applicable not only to the originally intended category of instruments, namely measuring instruments regulated by the MID, but also to far more classes of measuring instruments.

VRDL: A Visual Software Requirements Language

The author proposes a visual software requirements definition method including describing a visual software requirements specification (SRS) with a visual requirements language.The method proposed ...

Improving object-oriented analysis

This paper evaluates current object-oriented analysis methods and proposes some possible improvements. We start by describing software requirements definition activities and reviewing the concepts of data modelling and object-orientation. We then identify key principles of object-oriented analysis and judge a selection of emerging methods against these principles. Finally, a proposal is presented which attempts to avoid some of the identified shortcomings. The proposal provides a nested object-relationship-operation framework which is based on a consistent use of the object model, a strong notion of encapsulation and a clear distinction between the essential and the contingent properties of the modelled entities.

Taming Complexity: Attempts at Analyzing and Documenting Operator Tasks for Sophisticated Software-Based Systems

As more and more work makes use of computers, the need for simple usable methods for analyzing and documenting computer-based operator tasks is increasing. Computer-based tasks can be very complex and difficult to analyze, describe, and train. Traditional methods for describing tasks are often inadequate. The purpose of this paper is to present two cases where methods were borrowed from software requirements definition and design and applied to analysis and documentation of operator tasks for complex software-based systems. The situation associated with each case is described. The methodology borrowed and adapted is then described and comments are made concerning the effectiveness of the approach. Finally, some summary comments are made.

Express: proposal for uniform notations

A notational standard called Express is proposed that can be applied in several software engineering areas, e.g., requirements definition, design, and implementation. The kernel of Express is simple but powerful through application of mathematical forms of expressions. Notations in Express are uniform: for example, data structures are denoted in the same way as program structures. Express can be used in combination with templates that software engineers can, fill with natural language and expressions.

An Application of Structural Modeling to Software Requirements Analysis and Design

In software development, it has been pointed out that software engineers must pay attention to software requirements definition. One of the important problems in software engineering is to rationalize the processes from requirements definition to design. Computer tools are most useful and efficient for this purpose. This paper proposes a computer-aided software design system (CASDS), which supports software engineers with a series of structural modeling. As is well-known in systems planning, structural modeling helps to extract concepts from many fuzzy requirements. This system contains three structural modeling methods. They are used 1) to determine functional terms from fuzzy software requirements, 2) to obtain modules by structuring the functions with respect to the data flows, and 3) to make a program skeleton by imposing control flows on the functional elements obtained by breaking down the modules.

Independent general principles for constructing responsive software systems

Three general principles are presented that can be applied in early software life cycle stages for the definition of software requirements and designs with acceptable performance. They are genuine high-level considerations for meeting responsiveness goals without sacrificing understandability and maintainability, and without increasing development time and cost. The principles are derived from the interrelationships of two performance models: a queueing network based on computer system model and an execution graph software model. The performance effect of each of the principles is quantified using the models. Examples are given that illustrate how they can be applied to software systems.

Human software requirements engineering for computer-controlled manufacturing systems

Computers as integral systems components determine the quality of work of operators in industrial production. This paper contributes to improving the design of man-machine systems by proposing a formal aid to human software requirements definition and design. First, the need for considering human requirements is stressed. Since technology is to be considered as ‘non-deterministic’, the designer is faced with a degree of freedom in his design decisions which can be and should be utilized for raising the quality of work of people operating computer-controlled man-machine systems. Then, a hierarchy of human quality criteria applicable for ergonomic judgement of work design measures is derived. Following the principle of prospective work design, these criteria must be considered as design goals just like technical and economic requirements. As a formal aid for making design decisions meeting these comprehensive requirements, the Requirements/Quality Criteria Matrix is proposed. Finally, this method of considering human requirements is illustrated by designing some man-machine interface features for operators of a hypothetical flexible manufacturing system.

Human Software Requirements Engineering for Computer-Controlled Manufacturing Systems

Computers as an integral system component determine the quality of work of operators in industrial production. This paper makes a contribution for improved design of man-machine systems by proposing a formal aid to human software requirements definition and design.First, the need for considering human requirements is stressed. As technology is to be considered "non-deterministic", the designer is faced by a degree of freedom in his design decisions which can be and should be utilized for rising the quality of work of persons operating computer-controlled man-machine systems.Then, a hierarchy of human quality criteria applicable for ergonomie judgement of work design measures is derived. Following the principle of prospective work design, these criteria must be considered just like technical and economical requirements as design goals. As a formal aid for making design decisions meeting these comprehensive requirements, the Requirements/Quality Criteria Matrix is proposed.Finally, this method of considering human requirements is exemplified by designing some man-machine interface features for operators of a hypothetical flexible manufacturing system.