****************REQUIREMENTS ENGINEERING NEWSLETTER******************** No. 26. Contents 1. Message from the Moderator! (Anthony Finkelstein) 2. Abstracts of the ICRE Papers 3. Quantified Requirements Meeting (Robin Whitty) 4. FTP archive in Lisbon (Mark Ryan) 5. New Book on Requirements Engineering (Andrew Blyth) 6. 3rd Intl Summer School on Method Engineering & Metamodeling (Narendra Ravi) 7. CAiSE*94 reminder (Sjaak Brinkkemper) 8. CDIF Standards (Merlin Dorfman) 9. New Book on Software Process Modelling & Technology (Bashar Nuseibeh) 10. The Package Router - on a large scale (Martin Feather) If you have questions about particular items appearing in the newsletter - send them to the originators. If you wish to contribute send your material to: re-list@doc.ic.ac.uk (will be moderated). Subscription or Removal requests should be sent 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 The Requirements Engineering Newsletter and its archive is also accessible through WWW. The URL is: http://web.doc.ic.ac.uk/req-eng/index.html You may wish to link any Internet software engineering information resource you maintain to this and/or notify the manager of your local Web server by passing this message on to them. If you wish your requirements or software engineering ftp archive to be linked to the RE Newsletter archive please inform me. If you are unfamiliar with WWW you may wish to obtain a copy of the Mosaic public domain internet browser which is available for X-Windows, Macintosh or Microsoft Windows. The RE Newsletter can be conveniently accessed through the Imperial College, Department of Computing, United Kingdom, WWW Home Page (http://www.doc.ic.ac.uk/). Requirements Engineering Newsletter is published solely as an educational service. Copyright (c) 1994, Anthony Finkelstein; All Rights Reserved. ********************************************************************** From: acwf@doc.ic.ac.uk (Anthony Finkelstein) Subject: Message from the Moderator! This is a brief welcome to those who subscribed to the newsletter at the International Conference on Requirements Engineering (ICRE 94) in Colorado Springs (USA). To those who were unable to attend I had promised a "trip report", unfortunately I have been too busy to write one, as you might have guessed from the gap between this and the last issue. As a substitute I am including the hurriedly typed abstracts of the ICRE papers below. I am including the email of the principal author or presenter, where I have been able to find it, to help you to get more information... Anthony ********************************************************************** PUBLICATION DETAILS: Proceedings of the First International Conference on Requirements Engineering (ICRE), April 18-22 1994, Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA. IEEE Computer Society Press. IEEE Computer Society Press Order Number 5480-02 Library of Congress Number 93-80706 IEEE Catalog Number 94TH0613-0 ISBN 0-8186-5480-5 Contents Recommendations for Immediate Use by Practitioners Attacking Requirements Complexity Using a Separation of Concerns M. Alford Contact: alford@netcom.com As systems become more complex, the task of defining requirements must evolve to deal with this complexity. The use of the concepts of "separation of concerns" provides a successful approach for cutting problem complexity down to the level where it can be handled. Such concepts can be added to any notation or "methodology", but are more effective if the underlying requirements definition notation provides support. An Object-Oriented Dual Language for Specifying Reactive Systems G. Bucci, M. Campanai, P. Nesi and M. Traversi Contact: NESI@INGFI1.ing.unifi.it Descriptive Software specification techniques are based on mathematical formalism and produce precise, rigorous specification which are in general to be preferred for the design of reactive systems with respect to operational techniques. Recently, dual languages which tend to integrate these aspects have been investigated. In this paper, an object-oriented specification dual language, named TROL is presented, it consists in an executable formal specification model which can be used for validation of reactive systems. TROL has the capability to describe the system behaviour, its functionality and structural aspects. It allows to describe the system specification details without boundaries among the specification steps. At each specification level, TROL helps the user in the verification of consistency, thus allowing incremental specification. TROL has a visual representation which has been supported by a CASE tool named TOOMS. An OOA Model with System Function Specifications Shih-Chen Chou and Chyan-Goei Chung A new OOA model and methodology are proposed in this paper. The proposed OOA model is composed of an object model, which specifies objects and the relationships between them, and a function model, which specifies system function and their operation logic. The proposed OOA methodology develops the specification of objects and system functions in parallel by following a functional refinement process. Since system functions are specified clearly in the OOA model, the user can easily understand what the system can do by tracing its specification. The object model and function model are developed in parallel, so the consistency between system functions are objects are kept throughout the OOA process. System Bounding Issues for Analysis Janet M. Drake and W. T. Tsai Contact: drake@cs.uni.edu Defining system boundaries is an important part of analysis. Bounding is a separate process from partitioning or decomposing the problem. System boundaries show what is inside and outside the system whereas partitions manage the complexity of the problem. This paper discusses the tradeoffs between early and late bounding and concludes that the bounding process should be done late or least repeated late in analysis. Specification of system boundaries improves when as much as possible is known about the problem. Analysis techniques should contain a representation and process to support system bounding. We demonstrate system bounding by comparing analysis done with Structured Analysis (SA) and Object-Oriented Analysis (OOA). SA techniques bound the system either late in analysis or not at all. We present and demonstrate a boundary identification process for late bounding. Types Classes and Collection in Object-Oriented Analysis Gabriel Eckert Contact: Gabriel.Eckert@di.epfl.ch This paper evaluates the classification support provided by current object-oriented analysis methods and proposes possible improvements. Concepts of object-orientation are briefly reviewed. Key principles for classification are identified and emerging object-oriented analysis methods are then judged against these principles. In an attempt to avoid some of the identified shortcomings, it is proposed that classification support during analysis should be based on two distinct constructs (types and collections) instead of a single class construct. This suggestion is based on a clear distinction between the essential and the contingent properties of the modelled objects. The concept of operations: The Bridge from Operational Requirements to Technical Specifications Richard E. Fairley, Richard H. Thayer and Per Bjorke This paper describes the role of a Concept of Operations (ConOps) document in the specification and development of a software-intensive system. It also describes the process of developing a ConOps, is uses and benefits, who should develop it, and when it should be developed. The ConOps described in this paper is compared to other forms of operational concept documents. A recommended format for the ConOps document is presented in the paper. Underlying Concepts in Process Specifications Jose Otavio Proenca Soares Contact: OTAVIO@PEC001.USP.ANSP.BR Underlying concepts in process specification are discussed, such as function, functioning, ordering and conservation. The text describes how these terms represent different forms of purpose attribution to objects. A process modelling technique is proposed in order to complement the usual techniques adopted in requirements engineering. A Multimedia Approach to Requirements Capture and Modelling David P. Wood, Michael G. Christel & Scott M. Stevens Contact: dpw@sei.cmu.edu The advanced Multimedia Organiser for Requirements Elicitation (AMORE) embodies a synthesis of technologies adapted specifically for application to requirements elicitation processes and models. Elicitors will use AMORE as a platform for storing requirements in as close to their natural forms as possible to maximise traceability and to promote understanding of original intentions and motivations. AMORE fills the gap that exists between raw requirements source material and the more formalised requirements representations commonly used by specification methods and CASE tools. The concepts and technologies demonstrated by AMORE are suitable for inclusion as a front-end augmentation to existing CASE analysis tools Ripe Fruits A Case Study of Applying Rapid Prototyping Techniques in the Requirements Engineering Environment Ramon D. Acosta, Carla L. Burns, William E. Rzepka, James L. Sidoran Contact: bill@venus.rl.af.mil Rapid prototyping techniques have been recognised as an important technology for requirements engineering. By developing and exercising executable prototypes as part of the requirements specification process, it is possible to address the well known problems of ambiguity, incompleteness, and inconsistency in capturing requirements for complex software systems. The Requirements Engineering Environments (REE), under development at Rome Laboratories since 1985, provides an integrated toolset for rapidly representing, building, and executing models of critical aspects of complex systems. This paper presents an overview of the REE toolset and describes its capabilities for modelling and analysing functional, user interface, and performance requirements. It then discusses a case study that illustrates the approach for transitioning REE technology from the laboratory to Air Force user sites. This case study specifically concentrates on applying REE to prototyping activities associated with developing a space debris hazard analysis system. Modelling aspects covered in the study include designing user interfaces, exercising domain-specific analytical models and algorithms, and iterative modification of functional prototypes. Software Requirements As Negotiated Win Conditions Barry Boehm, Prasanta Bose, Ellis Horowitz and Ming-June Lee Contact: boehm@sunset.usc.edu Current processes and support systems for software requirements determination and analysis often neglect critical needs of important classes of stakeholders and limit themselves to concerns of the developers, users and customers. Besides developers, customers and users these stakeholders can include maintainers, interfacers, testers, product line managers, and sometimes members of the general public. This paper describes the results to date in researching and prototyping a Next Generation Process Model (NGPM) and support system (NGPSS) which directly addresses these issues. The NGPM emphasises collaborative processes, involving all of the significant constituents with a stake in the software product. Its conceptual basis is a set of Thoery W (win-win) extensions to the Spiral Model of software development. AbstFinder, A Prototype Abstraction Finder for Natural Language Text for Use in Requirements Elicitation: Design, Methodology, and Evaluation Leah Goldin & Daniel M. Berry Contact: leah@csc.cs.technion.ac.il In order to help solve the problems of requirements elicitation, this paper motivates and describes a new approach, based on traditional signal processing methods, for finding abstractions in natural language text. The design of Abstfinder, an implementation of the approach, and the evaluation of its effectiveness on an industrial-strength example are described. An Analysis of the Requirements Traceability Problem Orlena C. Z. Gotel & Anthony Finkelstein Contact: oczg@doc.ic.ac.uk In this paper, we investigate and discuss the underlying nature of the requirements traceability problem. Our work in based on empirical studies, involving over 100 practitioners, and an evaluation of current support. We introduce the distinction between pre-requirements specification (pre-RS) traceability and post-requirements specification (post-RS) traceability, to demonstrate why an all-encompassing solution to the problem is unlikely, and to provide a framework through which to understand its multifaceted nature. We report how the majority of the problems attributed to poor requirements traceability are due to inadequate pre-RS traceability and show the fundamental need for improvements here. In the remainder of the paper, we present an analysis of the main barriers confronting such improvements in practice, identify relevant areas in which advances have been (or can be ) made, and made recommendations for research. Keywords: Requirements traceability, pre-requirements specification traceability, post-requirements specification traceability, requirements engineering practice, requirements traceability tools. The Directorate Information System at St Thomas' Hospital: A Study in Domain Analysis J. Holland, P. Sonksen, E. Carson, B. Cohen This paper describes a project run at St Thomas' Hospital whose goal was to design an information system that would support the busies of a 'clinical directorate". We argue that the analysis for an information system in an area as complex as this needs to be preceded by detailed domain analysis, and that conventional techniques are inadequate. The method used is described: this supports the construction of formal set theoretic domain theories, and the refinement of those theories through refutation and reconstruction. The domain theory that was developed in elucidated. Some abstract properties of the domain are described and discussed. An animation of the theory is presented and examples of behavioural theorems that were refuted by domain experts are given. Some philosophical issues concerning the method are briefly discussed. Transitioning to Rigorous Software Specification N. W. Morgan & C. Schahczenski This paper describes the first attempt to use the Z Formal Specification Language for a deliverable Bellcore product. That first attempt involved using Z to write detailed requirements for an enhancement to an existing Planning and Engineering system. It is recommended that the use of formal methods at Bellcore be expanded , since the preliminary results of this trial show that existing projects can thereby obtain early and cost effective benefits. This paper includes a brief description of formal methods and the Z Specification Language, a brief description of the Planning and Engineering project that utilised Z, a description of how the trial was carried out, and a list of lessons learned from the experience. Using Formal Methods for Requirements Specification of a Proposed POSIX Standard Neal R. Reizer, Gregory D. Abowd, B. Craig Meyers & Patrick R. H. Place Contact: nrr@sei.cmu.edu We demonstrate the utility of formal methods in the development of requirements for standards. We describe the results of an exercise to generate a formal specification of the forthcoming POSIX .21 standard "Real-Time Distributed Systems Communications". This exercise was conducted by a relative novice in formal methods who did not have significant POSIX domain knowledge . With the assistance of both formal specification activity raised a number of issues by the domain specialists will lead to a improved standard, whether or not the formal specification is included in the standard. In this paper, we present a classification and analysis of the types of issues raised using our formal approach. Our experience established more clearly the benefits of a formal approach to requirements engineering. Comparative Analysis of Embedded Computer System Requirements Methods Stephanie M. White Contact: steph@gdstech.grumman.com Requirements methods proven practical on large embedded computer systems (ECS) are formalised, synthesised, and improved. A cross-section of methods are evaluated for robust semantics, mathematical foundation, capability for analysis and verification, and support for model construction, comprehension, reuse, and modification. Deriving Human-Error Tolerance Requirements from Tasks Peter Wright, Bob Fields & Michael Harrison Contact: PCW@minster.york.ac.uk In this paper we show how an understanding of a dynamic system from the point of view of the tasks that it supports and an understanding of human error can guide a process of deriving human error tolerance requirements. Our aim is to provide a means whereby, rather than relying on training a a means of improving operator performance, designers may develop interactive systems with human error tolerance in mind. We extend an established methodology (SHARP) by employing s software engineering notation (CSP) that provides a bridge between a theory of error and the practice of design and implementation. In this paper we outline approaches to human error, describe a task notation based on CSP which helps us to elicit requirements on human-error tolerance expressed as functional properties of the system. The techniques is used to analyse an engine fire recovery procedure in order to derive human error tolerance requirements. Research Ripple: A Formally Specified Prototyping System Boumediene Belkhouche & Bart J. Geraci Contact: bb@cs.tulane.edu The intent of this research is to cast the prototyping method in a formal setting and to demonstrate the feasibility of such a formalisation. As such, a formal basis for developing and analysing prototyping methods and prototyping environments is formulated. Concurrently an objective definition of prototyping is provided. To grasp the nature of prototyping, as opposed to traditional methods, concepts and issues that form the essence of prototyping are identified. These are linguistic framework, formality, and abstraction levels. Denotational semantics and a corresponding implementation are used to formalise the notion of transformation form one level to the next. Facilitating "Fuzzy to Formal" Requirements Modelling J. Bubenko, C. Rolland, P. Loucopoulos & V. DeAntonellis Contact: cro@masi.ibp.fr Requirements specification methods and techniques have hitherto mainly have been concerned with promoting various representation formalisms for formally describing information systems, and discussing their expressive power. However, this approach concentrated only partially on the problem. A major issue is how to bridge the gap between ill-defined problem and application situations, and specification of the formal, precise definition of functional requirements of the information system. In this paper we outline an extended requirements and information modelling paradigm, based on a number of interrelated meta-models. These models reflect the enterprise and its objectives, its non-functional requirements on the system, re-use of existing specification components, and a model for managing and tracking the specification development process. Organisation Requirements Definition for Information Technology Systems John Dobson & Ros Strens Contact: John.Dobson@newcastle.ac.uk This paper describes a model of the requirements determination process based on four concurrent subprocesses which we term scoping, modelling, requirements and options. The main features of each of these subprocesses are described, and we propose that the concept of responsibility is a boundary object which links them all. We also argue that analysing organisation in terms of responsibilities leads to requirements definition in a more natural manner than basing the organisational analysis on activities. Executing Viewing and Explaining Conceptual Models Jon Atle Gulla, Gier Willumsen, Odd Ivar Lindland & Arne Solvberg Contact: Odd.Ivar.Lindland@idt.unit.no Conceptual models are developed to asses the functional properties of information systems. Since they are used actively during the design and implementation of these systems, an important tacks is to make sure that the models really represent the users' needs and intentions. In the PPP environment, the conceptual modelling process is well supported. The PPP language is used during model construction, whereas three validation techniques are integrated for model validation. The combination of model execution, complexity reduction, and explanation generation provides an exposition of conceptual model properties that are difficult to detect reading the models or using stand-alone techniques. In the paper we explain the PPP modelling approach. Particularly, we show how the integration of these techniques work together to make the dynamic properties of PPP models more trans- parent to the users. Taxonomy for Requirements Analysis K. J. Hughes, R. M. Rankin & C. T. Sennett Contact: KHUGHES@green.dra.hmg.gb Techniques that are claimed to be applicable to analysing requirements for software intensive systems have been available for may years, but the extent to which they address this problem for large, complex systems is open to question. The techniques tend to focus on aspects of the system that are understood by specialist system designers, rather than on the issues that concern its prospective owners and user. It is not always clear how, if at all, some of these concerns may be analysed using existing techniques. This taxonomy provides a framework for classifying techniques according to the concerns that need to be addressed and the abstract frames in which analysis might be performed. Identification of all concerns reveals analysis needs, that must be satisfied by the set of abstract frames in which aspects of the system are modelled. Populating the taxonomy can identify where techniques are already available and where further research is needed. A Pattern Matching and Clustering Based Approach for Supporting Requirements Transformation Jianhong Liang & James D. Palmer Contact: jpalmer@gmuvax2.gmu.edu One problem in requirements transformation from informal prose requirements to formal specifications is natural language processing. Although natural language understanding is still not practical for general requirements processing, syntactical information is useful for concept extraction. This paper discusses the correspondence between requirements sentence structure patterns and the events/transition concepts. It addresses how this correspondence might be utilised to extract events and transitions form conditional sentences. A pattern matching and clustering based approach is proposed to support event and transition extraction. The approach first selects requirements that are likely to contain event/transition information and then groups similar requirements to extract events. Once events are identified, the original requirements are clustered based on events to identify related transition information. The approach is simple and does not require a parser. Requirements Critiquing Using Domain Abstractions N. A. M. Maiden & A. G. Sutcliffe Contact: cc559@city.ac.uk Reusing domain abstractions representing key domain features has been shown to aid requirement specification, however their role in requirements engineering has not been investigated thoroughly. This paper proposes domain abstractions to aid requirements critiquing as well as specification, thus maximising the payoff from retrieving domain abstractions. The requirements critic is part of a prototype intelligent requirements engineering toolkit being developed as part of the Nature project ESPRIT basis research action 6353. The critic retrieves domain abstractions to validate requirement specifications for problems including incompleteness, inconsistencies and ambiguities. Intelligent, mixed initiative dialogue between the critic and requirements engineer permits requirements critiquing at the right time and level of abstraction. A Visual Software Requirements Definition Method Atsushi Ohnishi Contact: ohnishi@kudpc.kyoto-u.ac.jp The author proposes a visual software requirements definition method including describing a visual software requirements specification (SRS) with a visual requirements language and executing the SRS. The method proposes here provides a describer for defining both the shape and semantics of icons to specify the requirements just what he imagines. The method also provides for describing icons' movements as a scenario description. This scenario enables an execution of the SRS with animation. The describer can confirm his requirements by checking the animation. A visual requirements language named VRDL and tools are illustrated with examples. The visual requirements specification method proposed here contributes to improve the understanding of an SRS and the easiness to write the SRS. The method also improves the correctness of the SRS. Validating and Evolving Software Requirements in a Systematic Framework Mehmet Bulent Ozcan & Jawed I. A. Siddiqi Contact: M.B.Ozcan@shu.ac.uk This paper is concerned with validation and evolution of software requirements based on the notion of executable specifications. A fundamental premise of this approach is that it is possible to use executable specification descriptions and conventional implementation descriptions interchangeably. This allows a prototype system to be transformed into a production quality system by incrementally replacing specifications with implementations which conform to them. Supporting Multi-Perspective Requirements Engineering William N. Robinson and Stephen Fickas Contact: wnr@research.CS.ORST.EDU Supporting collaborating requirements engineers as they independently construct a specification is highly desirable. Here, we show how collaborative requirements engineering can be supported using a planner, domain abstractions, and automated decision science techniques. In particular, we show how requirements conflict resolution can be assisted through a combination of multi-agent multi-criteria optimisation and heuristic resolution generation. We then summarise the use of our tool to rationally reconstruct a library specification. This line of research is significant in that it brings conflict detection and resolution into a requirements engineering framework. This particular work expands the automation found in our previous results. Modelling the Evolution of Artifacts Colette Rolland Contact: cro@masi.ibp.fr The particular Requirements Engineering (RE) process modelling approach being presented in this paper advocates the capture of the history of RE artifacts. An artifact is viewed as an Evolutionary Object which evolves as the RE process proceeds. The paper proposes a classification of the various kinds of evolution of artifacts and presents a generic model, the Evolutionary Object Model, to structure the RE history kept in the artifact's memory according to this classification. It emphasises the role of RE decisions in the evolutionary process and show how the rationale of an artifact evolution can be expressed in terms of decisions and stored in the evolutionary object history. The REVIEW System: From Formal Specifications to Natural Language A. Selek, P. G. Sorenson, J. P. Tremblay & J. M. Punshon Formal descriptions, while difficult for most human readers to understand, are convenient for specifying large software systems, where completeness and consistency are important issues. Informal specifications can offer advantages in conciseness and readability, but ambiguities and contradictions are an unavoidable side-effect. Since a specification often acts as a formal contract between the software developer and the customer, it is essential that both sides be able to fully understand the specification document. Systems have been proposed which help the software client better understand the specification by automatically paraphrasing it in natural language. This paper describes the architecture of the RE-VIEW system, which forms a part of the Metaview metasystem for capturing requirements information. Some example natural language outputs are shown for a sample requirements database. Towards a System for the Construction, Clarification, Discovery and Formalisation of Requirements Jawed Siddiqi, Ian Morrey, Richard Hibberd & Graham Buckberry Contact: j.i.siddiqi@shu.ac.uk Requirements engineering is fraught with possibilities for misunderstanding and mistakes and it is well known that the earlier such errors occur in the lifecycle the more costly the consequences. Formal specifications provide from a Developer's perspective a clear, concise and unambiguous statements of the system requirements. Prototyping enables effective user participation in the validation of requirements. The paper reports on work towards a system that judiciously combines the strengths of formal specification and prototyping to assist in the construction, negotiation, clarification, discovery and formalisation of requirements that could make the crucial activity of requirements engineering less problematic. ********************************************************************** Subject:Quantified Requirements Meeting From: Robin Whitty CSR CLUB SOFTWARE RELIABILITY AND METRICS The forty-first meeting of the CSR Software Reliability and Metrics Club will be a two day event held on 18-19 May, at Sopwell House, St Albans. The meeting will start at 10.30 am, with registration from 10.00 am. The topic of this meeting will be Quantified Requirements. It is often claimed that requirements for software should be expressed in objective terms, which usually implies some form of quantitative measurement. In theory, this enables a clear understanding between developer and user, or between supplier and customer, about what the system has to achieve. Moreover, objectivity of requirements should lead to equal objectivity in acceptance testing, so that there can be no argument about whether requirements have been met. Unfortunately, life is not normally that simple. This two day meeting provides an opportunity to discuss the practical implications of these issues with leading experts in the field. Among the topics to be discussed will be the measurement of so called "non-functional requirements" of performance: quality, security, safety, usability, etc. The ability to define these properties quantitatively at the requirements stage is the key to their achievement in all kinds of software based sysems. Measurements of the requirements themselves will also be discussed: size, complexity and difficulty, and the amount of effort implied, are among the important issues here. The issue of elicitation of quantitative requirements will be addressed; that is, persuading users or their representatives to express their needs in a measurable way. As usual, there will also be a short Club business meeting. The cost of this two day meeting will be 180.00 for members of the Software Reliability and Metrics Club, and 250.50 for non members (including 60 Club membership fee and 10.50 VAT), which covers lunch and refreshments on both days. If you would like to attend, please complete the tear-off slip below and return with your remittance; early registration would be much appreciated and will help to avoid disappointment. Maps and suggested train times will be sent to registered delegates, who are responsible for arranging their own accommodation if required. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- To: Mrs. J. Atkinson Centre for Software Reliability Bedson Building University of Newcastle Tel: 091 212 4040 Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU Fax: 091 222 7995 CSR CLUB SOFTWARE RELIABILITY AND METRICS I would like to attend the meeting on 18-19 May, and enclose a cheque for 180.00/250.50 made payable to 'The University of Newcastle upon Tyne (CSR)' NAME ............................................................................ ADDRESS ............................................................................ ............................................................................ ............................................................................ TELEPHONE .............................................. Vegetarian Yes/No PROGRAMME Sopwell House, St Albans 18th May 1994 1000 REGISTRATION AND COFFEE 1030 Definition & Measurement of Non-Functional Requirements Ken Jackson 1115 From fuzzy to quantified Anne Waywell, British Aerospace 1200 LUNCH 1330 Measuring usability - the MUSIC approach Mike Kelly, Brameur 1415 Quantitative evaluation of security Bev Littlewood, City University 1500 TEA 1530 Quantifying the effects of changing requirements Philip Morris, University of York 1615 Discussion 1700 Close 19th May 1994 0930 Using risk to size the test effort Marnie Hutchison, Prosis, USA 1015 COFFEE 1045 Tom Gilb's quality attribute template: measuring the unmeasurable? Dorothy Graham, Grove Consultants 1130 Quality Standards : Help or Hindrance? Barbara Kitchenham, NCC 1215 LUNCH 1345 Club Business 1400 Structured Measurable Requirements Richard Stevens, Requirements Engineering Ltd 1445 Discussion 1530 TEA 1600 Close ********************************************************************** From: mdr@yoda.inesc.pt (Mark Ryan) Subject: FTP archive in Lisbon We announce the FTP archive embryo of the Theoretical Computer Science group at INESC and Dept.Matematica, Instituto Superior Tecnico, Lisbon, Portugal! Happy reading! The archive is located on yoda.inesc.pt (146.193.1.5) in the directory /pub. The archive is currently being set up, and has only a small number of papers by our group at present. All queries should be addressed to Mark Ryan The archive includes papers which may be of interest to requirements engineers. For example: 93-Ryan-re Mark Ryan. "Defaults and revisions in specifications"; Proc. IEEE Conf. on Requirements Engineering, San Diego, CA. January 1993. ********************************************************************** From: A.J.C.Blyth@ncl.ac.uk (Andrew Blyth) Subject: A New Book on Requirements Engineering. The following book on Requirements Engineering has just come out containing papers from the "Oxford" meeting on Requirements Capture and Analysis in December 1992. "Requirements Engineering: Social and Technical Issues", J.Goguen and M.Jirotka (Eds), Accademic Press, 1994, ISBN 0-12-385335-4. ********************************************************************** Subject: 3rd International Summer School on Method Engineering and Metamodeling From: Narendra Ravi P L A N T O A T T E N D N O W: The Third International Summer School on Method Engineering and MetaModelling June 16 (Thursday) -- June 19 (Sunday), 1994 Kananaskis Guest Ranch, Canadian Rockies 70 Kilometers West of Calgary, Alberta, Canada Position Papers by April 29, 1994. Scope ----- Research and development of information systems and information system development tools have been challenged by the need for metamodelling and method engineering to foster customizable CASE tool and integrated system developments. This workshop provides a common forum for fruitful exchanges between developments in practice, users of metamodels and meta-CASE tools, and researchers on requirements, problems and solutions in the field. This continues the direction established by the two very successful workshops held in Jyvaskyla, Finland in 1992 and in Enschede, Netherlands in 1993. This summerschool is sponsored by the IFIP WG 8.1/8.2 Taskgroup on Method Engineering. Preliminary Program ------------------- Thursday, June 16: Arrival, registration. Opening session (evening): Perspectives on Method Engineering by Dr. Sjaak Brinkkemper, University of Twente, Netherlands ------- Friday, June 17: Session 2: Modelling Process: Analytical and Synthesized Approaches by Dr. John Mylopoulos, University of Toronto Session 3: Applying Method Engineering: Principles and Techniques, Panel Session lead by Sri Sridharan, Intel Corporation, involving Industrial Participants ------- Saturday, June 18: Session 4: Integrating Method Engineering Environments by Dr. Walt Scacchi, University of Southern California Session 5: Issues and Challenges in Developing Support Environments for Method Engineering, Panel Session involving Industrial Participants Western Barbeque Night (social event) ------- Sunday, June 19: Session 6: Process Modelling Support in Method Engineering by Dr. Marc Kellnor, SEI, Carnegie-Mellon University, Pittsburgh (tentative) Brief Closing Session (Departure by 2 PM) The invited presentors/panelists will be encouraged to challenge the workshop participants with discussion questions and/or problems to be solved in follow-up working sessions. The typical morning and afternoon sessions will follow a format approximately as follows: ... 1st 1 hr - invited presentation(s) ... next 20 minutes - wrap-up of invited presentation or panel discussion ... 15 minutes - break ... two 10 minute "work in progress" reports by summerschool participants (these reports will be related to the topic of the invited presentation) ... next 1 hr - working group sessions based on presentation topic ... final 15 minutes - summaries of working group sessions Morning sessions will run from 8:45am til noon; afternoon sessions will run from 1:30pm til 4:45pm, except for Saturday where it will run from 1:00pm til 3:30pm to allow more time for a special "Western" social event in the evening. We plan to finish by noon on Sunday to allow participants to catch flights home on Sunday evening if they desire. Invitation Date Extended ------------------------ The organizers of MEMM'93 invite you to an interesting and educational workshop in the Rocky Mountains of Canada, with paper presentations, working sessions and panel discussions truly representative of the main interests of an international MEMM community. Participation is limited. Attendance will be based on invitation. In order to apply for participation, please send a one-page position paper containing a short description of current research, development or practice of metamodelling and method engineering by April 29, 1994 to: Olivia Sheng Management Information Systems Department College of Business and Public Administration McClelland Hall University of Arizona Tucson, AZ 85721 USA +1-602-621-2748 (tel); +1-602-621-2433 (fax); sheng@bpa.arizona.edu NOTE: We have extended the deadline for submissions by a week because we are a little late in sending out the details of the summerschool program. WE ARE PARTICULARLY INTERESTED IN GETTING MORE INDUSTRY-ORIENTED PARTICPANTS! Organizing Committee -------------------- General Chair Paul Sorenson, University of Alberta, Canada sorenson@cs.ualberta.ca Academic Program Chair Olivia Sheng, University of Arizona, USA sheng@bpa.arizona.edu Industrial Program Chair Sri Sridharan, Intel Corporation, USA (tentative) ccm!sri_sridharan@intelhf.intel.com Chair of External Finances Gezinus Hidding, Andersen Consulting, Chicago and Sponsorship ghidding@andersen.com European Chair Sjaak Brinkkemper, Univ. of Twente, Netherlands sjbr@cs.utwente.nl Australian/Far East Chair Rowan Stevens, RMIT, Melbourne, Australia rds@goanna.cs.rmit.oz.au Proceedings ----------- The possibility of a proceedings from the summerschool/workshop is being explored. Extended versions of selected position papers and outcomes from the various working group sessions would be published. The proceedings from the second summerschool will be available as a special issue of the journal Information and Software Technology by the end of this year. A preliminary version will be available as a technical report from the University of Twente in March, 1994. Sponsors -------- Andersen Consulting University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada University of Arizona, Tucson, USA Others to be announced Registration ------------ Tentatively set at: Double occupancy - $450 CANADIAN (or approx. $360 US funds) Single occupancy - $525 CANADIAN (or approx. $440 US funds) This includes all meals and conference material for three days. Double occupancy means two people sharing accommodations, each person with their own bed but in a single room. Single occupancy means one person per room. Some rooms are in two bedroom chalets containing four double beds with sitting room and wet bar. A GST of 7.5% may have to be added to the registration amounts. Registration does not include transportation to or from the Guest Ranch. Typically, this will cost approximately $35 CAN each way to and from the Calgary International Airport. Electronic registration will be encouraged. E-forms will be sent out to those who are selected to participate on or before April 30. An early registration date of June 1 will be set. Invited participants who have not made arrangements to pay by that time, may be "bumped" in favor of others participants on a waiting list. Addresses --------- For more information, please contact Organization details .... Paul Sorenson Department of Computing Science University of Alberta Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2H1 CANADA +1-403-492-4589 (tel); +1-403-492-1071 (fax); sorenson@cs.ualberta.ca Program Committee details ... Olivia Sheng Management Information Systems Department College of Business and Public Administration McClelland Hall University of Arizona Tucson, AZ 85721 USA +1-602-621-2748 (tel); +1-602-621-2433 (fax); sheng@bpa.arizona.edu ********************************************************************** From: sjbr@cs.utwente.nl (Sjaak Brinkkemper) Subject: CAiSE*94 reminder [Moderator: The programme for CAiSE*94 is very lengthy we have therefore made a full copy available via anonymous ftp from ftp-host: dse.doc.ic.ac.uk (IP number: 146.169.2.20) in the file /requirements/CAISE94PROG] CAiSE*94 The 6th Conference on Advanced Information Systems Engineering Date: 6-10 June 1994 Location: Utrecht, The Netherlands ORGANISATION: Software Engineering Research Centre and University of Twente ADVANCE PROGRAM WELCOME TO CAiSE*94 CAiSE*94 is the sixth International Conference on Information Systems Engineering. It will be held in Utrecht, the Netherlands, from 6 - 10 June, 1994. It continues the tradition of previous years, when CAiSE was held in Stockholm (Sweden), Trondheim (Norway), Manchester (England) and Paris (France). The CAiSE conferences are a platform for researchers and practitioners from academia and industry to discuss and exchange new developments in methods, techniques and tools to develop advanced information systems. The programme of events for CAiSE*94 provides an excellent starting point for these stimulating exchange of results and new developments. The three- day conference consists of a scientific programme and an industrial programme offering the participants the possibility to attend a wide variety of activities including paper sessions, tutorials and an exhibition. Utrecht is an excellent place for a conference. The beautiful city is located in the middle of the Netherlands. It has a modern heart containing the largest indoor shopping centre of the Netherlands, as well as an old, pedestrian-friendly city centre with canals and several mediaeval churches and other buildings. The many museums, theatres, restaurants, and bars form the perfect ambiance for the conference. We hope to meet you in Utrecht this summer! ********************************************************************** From: dorfman@univrs.DECNET.LOCKHEED.COM (Merlin Dorfman) Subject: CDIF Standards For RE tool developers information on the CDIF standard is now available by ftp. The data is at ftp.netcom.com on directory /pub/cdif. The files are stored in bin-hexed, zipped, Word for Windows 2.0. If you want more information about CDIF please contact: Patti Rusher Electrical Industries Association 2500 Wilson Blvd., Suite 203 Arlington, VA22206 ph: 703/527-7001 fx: 703/527-0685 e-mail: 544-6089@mcimail.com The files are: CMMN12.DOC.hqx CDIF Common Subject Area DDEFV08.DOC.hqx CDIF Data Definition Subject Area DDEFS4.DOC CDIF Data Deifinition Chapter 4 DFM06.DOC.hqx CDIF Data Flow Subject Area PMPS-V2.ZIP.hqx CDIF Project Management Subject Area STEV-V5.ZIP.hqx CDIF State Event Subject Area ********************************************************************** Subject: New Book on Software Process Modelling & Technology From: ban@doc.ic.ac.uk (Bashar Nuseibeh) Software Process Modelling and Technology Edited by A. Finkelstein, J. Kramer and B. Nuseibeh This book provides an account of the key European contributions to the international community of researchers in software process modelling and technology. The projects selected reflect the range of issues within the field; as such, the book form a valuable resource for researchers and practitioners seeking to establish the "state of the art". The book begins with a brief introduction to process-centred environments and then proposes a conceptual framework for describing and assessing evolving software processes. In the core of the book, ten projects which address different software process modelling and technology issues are described. These are: EPOS, SOCCA, MERLIN, OIKOS, ALF, ADELE-TEMP, SPADE, PEACE, E3, and PADM. The concluding chapter provides and experimental assessment exercise that compares and evaluates the different projects according to a list of assessment criteria. Contents: An Introduction to Process-Centred Environments; Concepts for Evolving Software Processes; EPOS: Object-Oriented Cooperative Process Modelling; SOCCA: Specifications of Coordinated and Cooperative Activities; MERLIN: Supporting Cooperation in Software Development through a Knowledge-Based Environment; OIKOS: Constructing Process-Centred SDEs; ALF: A Framework for Building Process-Centred Software Engineering Environments; ADELE-TEMPO: An Environment to Support Process Modelling and Enaction; SPADE: An Environment for Software Process Analysis, Design and Enactment; PEACE: Goal-Oriented Logic-Based Formalism for Process Modelling; E3: Object-Oriented Software Process Model Design; PADM: Towards a Total Process Modelling System; An Assessment Exercise; Index. 0 86380 169 2 384pp UK Pds 47.50/US $78.50 Research Studies Press (distributed by Wiley) ----------------- ORDER FORM ----------------------------------- Please send me _____ cop(ies) of: FINKELSTEIN/Software 0 86380 169 2 UK Pds 47.50/US $78.50 Please add UK Pds 2.00/US $5.00 to cover postage __ I enclose a cheque/bank draft for __________ (payable to John Wiley & Sons Ltd.) __ Please charge my credit card account __Mastercard __ American Express __ Barclaycard/Visa __ Diners Club __ JCB Card Number: ___________________________ Expiry Date: _______________ [ ] Please send and invoice [ ] I do not wish to receive mail from other companies You may telephone your credit card order by dialling Linkline 0800 243407 (UK only). We will refund your payment without question if you return any unwanted book to us in re-saleable condition within 30 days Your order will be dispatched promptly but please allow 21 days for delivery. Prices correct at the time of printing but subject to change. IMPORTANT - EC countries please complete details below. [ ] I am registered for VAT, my VAT registration number is ______________________ [ ] I am exempt from VAT and enclose proof. If registered for VAT, please quote you VAT number above. For non-registered customers, it may be necessary to add VAT to your order. PLEASE PRINT Name ___________________________________ Address ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ Signature _____________________ Date _________ RETURN TO: Nikki Phillips, John Wiley and Sons Ltd., Baffins Lane, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 1UD, UK. ********************************************************************** Subject:The Package Router - on a large scale From: Martin Feather Culled from Article: 21459 of comp.software-eng. The following looks like the package router on a slightly enlarged scale. The Apr 30 Denver, Colorado Rocky Mountain News front page story `Debacle at DIA-- Project out of control; airport won't open for months' describes how the faulty baggage system has now caused the fourth delay in the multi-billion-dollar project. Tests on Friday resulted in jammed baggage carts on elevated tracks, 100-cart pileups, bags falling onto tracks, and slow delivery. ``At times, tempers wore short as workers below the surface of the $3.7 billion airport toiled to clear jams...''. Further large-scale tests of the baggage system were cancelled. ``It's not ready. I'm not going to do anything to embarrass the city,'' said Mayor Wellington Webb. The newspaper reports that ``problems with the one-of-a-kind system are becoming so complex that Webb is searching for a NASA level consultant to assist BAE Automated Systems'' (the baggage system contractor). ``We're dealing in areas we don't even understand'' said the mayor. On Friday Continental tested transit of 429 bags from its ticket counters to its concourse, of which 38 were lost in the system. An additional 15% of the bags that arrived had to have their bar-coded tags scanned twice. An afternoon test by Continental went worse, with a 61% rate of 425 bags sent (113 rescanned, 53 lost). United ran a low-volume 300 bag test (less than 10 minutes of business) in the morning that had a 95% success rate. Their afternoon test involving outbound, inbound, and transfer baggage of 2,100 items was cancelled because of `a significant number of jams', according to Public Works spokeswoman Amy Lingg. The Rocky Mountain News reports that the baggage system is suffering problems in two basic areas: software glitches and mechanical failures. In the former case, the system probably employs real-time software of around 1 million lines of code, with `two to three errors per 1,000 lines of code typical'. ``Industry average for debugging errors takes 25% of the project's time or as many as 24 man-hours per error.'' In hardware areas, the 30,000 feet of conveyors, 19,000 bearings, 4,600 syncrhonous drives, 3,000 conveyor drives, 2,750 photo cells, 2,100 linear induction motors, 1,300 conveyor power turns, 350 motor control panels, 300 radio frequency readers, and 112 programmable logic controllers add up to a fiendish complexity proving intensely difficult to finetune to success. Currently a major problem is in vibrations that cause connections between rails to separate from each over time, with cart wheels jamming as they pass over the warped section. ``The Frankfurt Airport in Germany is the only other airport in the world to employ such a large system, and it took AEG Inc. six years to install the system and two years to correct all the software and hardware bugs.'' The newspaper devoted an entire column, albeit speculative in tone, to the software problems that plague the system, interviewing various industry experts on the difficulties of real-time software (apparently BAE engineers were unavailable or unwilling to comment). ``The BAE system employs laser scanners that read bar-coded labels placed on baggage. Experts say that means the BAE system probably employs real-time, numerical-control software. If running off-the-shelf software is the equivalent of riding a bicycle with training wheels, running real-time software is like running a unicycle.'' John Sloan, software engineer for the National Center for Atmospheric research in Boulder, commented: ``You run a test and something won't work. What you'd like to do is say `We'll fix the problem and run exactly the same test again.' But you can never produce the same circumstance two times in a row.'' The column compared the DIA baggage software problems to the now-infamous incident of the AT&T switching failure: ``Even the smallest error can cause a ripple effect that turns into a tidal wave of the kind that swamped AT&T's main switching system several years ago and shut down nearly 90% of the phone company's domestic long-distance operations for hours.'' Well-known Boulder software programmer Phil Zimmerman, developer of Pretty Good Privacy encryption software, commented: ``Software is the most complex of human inventions. It's kind of like if airplanes were like software systems, if someone forgot to tighten a screw under a seat, it would cause the engines to explode.'' The airport is now costing about $15 million a month in interest payments. Bond rating agencies Moody's and Standard & Poors currently rate DIA airport bonds `BBB' or two notches above `junk', and have notified the city that a downgrade may be imminent. This would escalate interest rates on future borrowing by the city to finance further delays in opening. Delays at this point cost the city about $1 million a day to service the $3.1 billion in bonded debt and pay operating expenses. **********************************************************************