To: re-world From: acwf@doc.ic.ac.uk (Anthony Finkelstein) Subject: REQUIREMENTS ENGINEERING NEWSLETTER (10) Cc: Bcc: X-Attachments: ****************REQUIREMENTS ENGINEERING NEWSLETTER******************** No. 10. 1. Job Opportunity (Joseph Goguen) 2. Univ. of Newcastle RE reports (Andrew Blyth) Contents Contributions to: re-list@doc.ic.ac.uk (will be moderated) Subscription or Removal to: re-request@doc.ic.ac.uk Back issues can be obtained via anonymous ftp from ftp-host: dse.doc.ic.ac.uk (IP number: 146.169.2.20). Directory: requirements. Files are called renl1, renl2, etc. If you cannot use ftp then you can get any back issues using email. Send email containing the following to ftpmail@doc.ic.ac.uk open dse.doc.ic.ac.uk cd requirements get quit ********************************************************************** From: Joseph Goguen (Joseph.Goguen@prg.ox.ac.uk) Subject: Job Opportunity The Centre for Requirements and Foundations at Oxford University seeks a Research Officer to work as part of an on-going research project in Requirements Engineering, being conducted in cooperation with British Telecommmunications plc. The work will concern requirements for multi-media systems. Some particular objectives are: 1. to understand existing requirements practice for Networked Multimedia products, and to identify aspects that need to be enhanced; 2. to compare empirically based techniques (e.g., prototyping, questionaires, interviews, conversation analysis, video-based interaction analysis, ethnomethodology) with classical methods (e.g., SSADM, IE, CORE); and 3. to develop guidelines for effectively combining methods in this domain. Applicants should have broad interests that include computing and the social sciences, and a higher degree in some relevant field. Experience in multi-media and/or CSCW is highly desirable. Salary is roughly 15,000 to 25,000 pounds, depending on qualifications. For further information, contact Professor Joseph Goguen or Ms. Marina Jirotka at the Programming Research Group, University of Oxford, 11 Keble Road, Oxford OX1 3QD, United Kingdom. Sending a CV and list of references would expedite matters. The email addresses are goguen@prg.ox.ac.uk marina@prg.ox.ac.uk and some relevant telephone numbers are (0865)272567 [jg office] (0865)272567 [jg secretary] (0865)272578 [mj office] (0865)273838 [prg office] (Remember to omit the initial 0 if dialing from outside the UK.) ********************************************************************** From: "A.J.C." Blyth Subject: Univ. of Newcastle RE reports The following is a list of reports that are now available for anonymous FTP on the Ordit Server (chopwell.ncl.ac.uk - 128.240.150.115) in the directory /pub/ordit Any problems with any of the files then E-Mail - A.J.C.Blyth@newcastle.ac.uk [report-01.92.ps] "The ORDIT Project", J.E.Dobson, June, 1992. This is an informal report on the current state of the ORDIT project. Dated June 1992. Abstract: The objective of the Ordit project is to create a methodology which supports community of stakeholders who wish to consider the use of an I.T. system in an organisational setting. The methodology is able o to capture and represent organisational requirements for future socio-technical systems. o to model both organisational and information systems o to model alternative futures and evaluate their fit with the requirements of different stakeholders. o to produce a specification which represents both necessary organisational changes and information systems requirements in a form suitable for system specificatiom. [compsac.92.ps] "The ORDIT Approach to Requirements Identification",J.E.Dobson, A.J.C.Blyth, J.Chudge, M.R.Strens, Proceedings of the 16th Annual International Computer Software and Applications Conference, Sept 21-25, Chicago, Illinois, pp. 356-361, 1992. Abstract: The most crucial aspect of software engineering is the gathering of requirements. Increasing the amount of time and improving the quality of effort expended at this stage will lead to fewer and more manageable problems later on in the development life-cycle. In this paper we describe the ORDIT approach to requirements identification and expression within the context of organisational change. ORDIT focuses on the representation of organisational requirements in the design of socio-technical systems which are intended to emphasise the relationships between organisational structure and information technology (IT) systems. [idasco.92.ps] "Modelling Organisational Complexity Using the Ordit Framework", D.FPoulson, G.Oswald, J.S.Chudge and M.R.Strens, IEE International Conference on Information Decision Action Systems in Complex Organisations, April 6 - 8, Oxford, England, Conference Publication Number 353, pp. 70 - 74, 1992. Abstract: < None > [ifip-wg8.1-isdp.92.ps] "The Role of Interaction Analysis in Requirements Engineering", A.J.C.Blyth and J.Chudge, Proceedings of the IFIP WG 8.1 Conference on Information System Development Process, Como, Italy, 1993. Abstract: We describe the technique of interaction analysis which we have developed as a model capable of representing and reasoning about the requirements on information technology systems and the implications for organisational change. We then present the results of an actual case study on which the model has been applied. [nspw.93.ps] "How Responsibility Modelling Leads to Security Requirements", J.E.Dobson and M.R.Strens, New Security Paradigms Workshop, Little Compton, RI, August 1993. Abstract: When a technical system is placed in a social context (a socio-technical system) organisational requirements arise in addition to the functional requirements on the system. Security is a good example of such an organisational requirement. A means of identifying these organisational requirements is needed and also a way of specifying them that is meaningful both to users and systems designers. This paper proposes that the concept of responsibility fills both these needs. Responsibilities embody requirements in that the responsibility holder needs to do things, needs to know things and needs to record things for subsequent audit. These needs form the basis of a Tneed-to-knowU security policy. These needs can be interpreted as functional and data requirements on the IT system implementing such a security policy. Responsibilities can thus be used as a boundary object between the worlds of users and designers in a way that is meaningful to both. Furthermore a model of responsibilities describes the context within the organisational structure in which the requirements, including those related to security, arise. This paper shows how organisational structure may be represented as a network of responsibility relationships, how requirements arise from the discharge of obligations associated with responsibilities, and how these concepts have been applied to the particular example of specifying user requirements for clinical workstations in acute hospitals. [compsac.93.ps] "A Framework for Modelling Evolving Requirements", A.J.C.Blyth, J.Chudge, J.E.Dobson snf M.R.Strens, Proceedings of the 17th Annual International Computer Software and Applications Conference, Nov 3-5, Phoenix, Arizona, 1993. Abstract: The most crucial aspect of software engineering is the gathering of requirements. Increasing the amount of time and improving the quality of effort expended at this stage will lead to fewer and more manageable problems later on in the development life-cycle. The purpose of this paper is to highlight one of the most crucial problems that afflict user organisations when engaging in I.T. systems: the problem that the requirements for the system may change and evolve during the construction of the system. What we propose in this paper is a framework in which evolving and emerging requirements can be dealt with in an iterative manner within a method constructed upon a user-centred design philosophy. This paper is a presentation of recent developments made in the ORDIT project which was reported on last year. [coocs-93.ps] "ORDIT: A new methodology to assist in the process of eliciting and modelling organisational requirements", A.J.C.Blyth, J.Chudge, J.E.Dobson snf M.R.Strens, Proceedings on the Conference on Organisational Computing Systems, Nov, San Jose, California, 1993. Abstract: Requirements engineering from an organisational perspective needs to be viewed as social engineering. Thus in this paper a modelling language will be presented, which is visual in nature, and with which we assert that it is possible to diagrammatically represent and reason about the impact that an information technology system may have on an organisation, and thus derive organisational requirements. **********************************************************************