Requirement Engineering

Department of Computer Science

1 Govt. College University, Lahore
 Summary of the previous lecture
 Web engineering extends Software Engineering to

Web applications

 Why web engineering?

 Web applications

 Categories of web applications

 Characteristics of web applications

Department of Computer Science

2 Govt. College University, Lahore
Outline
 Introduction to RE

 RE basics

 Requirements specification

 RE Activities

 RE specifics in web engineering

 Modeling Web Applications

 1. Requirement Engineering
 Requirements Engineering: the principles,

methods, & tools for drawing, describing,

validating, and managing project goals and needs

 Given the complexity of Web apps, RE is a critical

initial stage activity, but often poorly executed

Department of Computer Science

4 Govt. College University, Lahore
 1. Requirement Engineering…
 Costs:

 Inadequate software architectures

 “Unforeseen” problems

 budget overruns

 production delays

 “that’s not what I asked for”

 Low user acceptance

Department of Computer Science

5 Govt. College University, Lahore
 1. Requirement Engineering…
 Why requirement engineering:

 requirements don’t define themselves (Bell & Thayer,

1976)
 removal of mistakes post hoc is up to 200 times more
costly (Boehm, 1981)
 iterative collection and refinement is the most
important function of a software engineer (Brooks,
1987)

Department of Computer Science

6 Govt. College University, Lahore
 1. Requirement Engineering…
 Why requirement engineering:

 A study based on 340 companies in Austria, more than

two thirds consider the SRS as the major problem in

development process (1995)
 A study on Web applications, 16% systems fully meet

their requirement while 53% deployed systems do not

(Cutter Consortium, 2000)

Department of Computer Science

7 Govt. College University, Lahore
 1. Requirement Engineering…
 Why requirement engineering:

 A study among 8000 projects, 30% of projects fail

before completion & almost half do not meet

customer requirements (Standish group, 1994)
 Unclear objectives, unrealistic schedules & expectations, poor

user participation

Department of Computer Science

8 Govt. College University, Lahore
 2. RE basics
 Identify and involve the stakeholders

 those that directly influence the requirements

 customers, users, developers

 What are their expectations?

 may be misaligned or in conflict

 may be too narrowly focused or unrealistic

Department of Computer Science

9 Govt. College University, Lahore
 2. RE basics…
 What is requirement?
 The descriptions of what the system should do
 services that it provides and the constraints on its
operation
 IEEE 601.12 definition of requirement:
 1) Solves a user’s problem
 2) Must be met or possessed by the system to satisfy a
formal agreement
 3) Documented representation of conditions in 1 and 2

Department of Computer Science

10 Govt. College University, Lahore
 2. RE basics…
 Requirements types

 Functional requirements:

 statement of services

 how system reacts to input

 how system behaves in particular situation

 Non-functional requirements:

 constraints on services (timing, quality etc.)

 applies as a whole

Department of Computer Science

11 Govt. College University, Lahore
 2. RE basics…
 Requirements are collected iteratively and change

 Keys to requirement definition:

 Negotiation

 Scenario-based discovery

 Clear definition of context and constraints

Department of Computer Science

12 Govt. College University, Lahore
 3. Requirements specifications
 process of writing down the user and system requirements in
a requirements document
 User requirements (for users)

 should be understand able to users

 avoid notations, use simple tables, forms etc.

 System requirements (for Software engineers)

 starting point for the system design

 how system provides the services

Department of Computer Science

13 Govt. College University, Lahore
 3. Requirements specifications…
 Natural language specification:

 Stories or itemized requirements

 create a standard format

 distinguish between mandatory and desirable

requirements
 don’t use the technical words

 associate rationale with each requirement

Department of Computer Science

14 Govt. College University, Lahore
 3. Requirements specifications…
 Structured specification:

 Includes

 description

 inputs/outputs

 description of the action

 pre condition

 post condition

Department of Computer Science

15 Govt. College University, Lahore
4. RE Activities
Elicitation &
Negotiation

Management Documentation

Validation &
Verification
 4. RE Activities…
 Elicitation and negotiation:
 RE engineer involve the stakeholder to define
 application domain
 services
 constraints
 Steps:
 requirement discovery
 Interviewing, scenarios, questionnaires, use-cases etc.
 classification and organization
 prioritization and negotiation

Department of Computer Science

17 Govt. College University, Lahore
 4. RE Activities…
 Documentation:

 requirements are documented after consensus

 Requirement verification and validation:

 validated: doing right things?

 verification: doing things right?

Department of Computer Science

18 Govt. College University, Lahore
 4. RE Activities…
 Requirements management:

 understanding and controlling changes

 problem analysis and change specification

 change analysis and costing

 change implementation

Department of Computer Science

19 Govt. College University, Lahore
 5. RE specifics in web engineering
 Distinguishing characteristics:
 Multidisciplinary:
 experts from different disciplines i.e. media experts,
content experts, usability experts etc.
 challenging to achieve consensus
 Unavailability of stakeholders:
 many stakeholders such as users are unknown during
RE Activities
 need to find suitable representatives

Department of Computer Science

20 Govt. College University, Lahore
 5. RE specifics in web engineering
 Distinguishing characteristics:

• Rapidly changing requirements & constraints:

 environment is highly dynamic

 harder to stabilize requirements

 Unpredictable operational environment:

 impossible to control the operation environment

 affects the quality requirements

 change of bandwidth can change response time

Department of Computer Science

21 Govt. College University, Lahore
 5. RE specifics in web engineering
 Distinguishing characteristics:

• Legacy Systems:

 constrained by existing system

 existing components drive the possibilities

 Quality aspects:

 are decisive i.e. performance, security, availability

 harder to get exact specification

Department of Computer Science

22 Govt. College University, Lahore
 5. RE specifics in web engineering
 Distinguishing characteristics:
• User interface:
 key success-critical aspect
 should be aware of IKIWISI
 Quality of content:
 accuracy, objectivity, credibility, relevance, actuality,
completeness, or clarity

Department of Computer Science

23 Govt. College University, Lahore
 5.1 RE principles for web engineering
 Understanding the system context
 web apps are always a component of a larger entity
 why do we need the system?
 how will people use it?
 Involving the stakeholders
 get all groups involved
 balance – one group’s gain should not come at the
expense of another
 repeat the process of identifying, understanding and
negotiating

Department of Computer Science

24 Govt. College University, Lahore
 5.1 RE principles for web engineering…

 Iteratively define requirements

 requirements need to be consistent with other system

aspects (UI, content, test cases)

 start with key requirements at a high level; basis for:

 feasible architectures

 key system use cases

 initial plans for the project

Department of Computer Science
25 Govt. College University, Lahore
 5.1 RE principles for web engineering…

 Risk Orientation

 risk management is at the heart of the analysis process

 what are the greatest risks?

 integration issues / legacy systems

 expected vs. actual system quality

 how to mitigate risks?

 prototyping (avoid IKIWISI)

 show changes to customer iteratively

 integrate existing systems sooner than later

Department of Computer Science

26 Govt. College University, Lahore
 6. System modeling
 Process of developing abstract models of a system
 Representing system using graphical notations
 UML

Department of Computer Science

27 Govt. College University, Lahore
 6. System modeling
 each model presents a different view or perspective
of the system
 External perspective: system context and environment

 Interaction perspective: how system interact with

environment
 Structural perspective: how system is organized

 Behavioral perspective: dynamic behavior of the

system
Department of Computer Science
28 Govt. College University, Lahore
 6. System modeling…
 Models are used during

 RE phase to derive system requirements

 use-case diagram, activity diagram

 design phase to describe the system to engineers

 class diagrams, sequence diagrams etc.

 after implementation

 to document system’s structure and operation

Department of Computer Science

29 Govt. College University, Lahore
 6. System modeling…
 Why system modeling?

 reduce complexity

 document design decisions

 facilitate communication among team members

Department of Computer Science

30 Govt. College University, Lahore
 6. System modeling…
Levels Modeling dimensions:
User interface

Application Logic

Phases
Structure Analysis Design Implementation

Behavior

Aspects

 Levels – the “how” & “what” of an application

 Aspects – objects, attributes, and relationships; function & processes
 Phases – Development cycle

Department of Computer Science

31 Govt. College University, Lahore
 6. System modeling…
Levels
Presentation
Hypertext
Customization
Content

Phases
Structure Analysis Design Implementation

Behavior

Aspects
 Levels – Information, node/link structure, UI & page layout separate.
 Aspects – Same as Software Applications
 Phases – Approach depends upon type of application
 Customization – Context information (user’s preferences, bandwidth restriction,
device characteristic etc.) and allow to adopt web application accordingly
 Influence other three dimensions
Department of Computer Science
32 Govt. College University, Lahore
 6. System modeling…
 Requirement modeling
 use-case diagram
 activity diagram

 Content modeling
 class diagram

 Navigational modeling
 to model nodes and navigational structure among
them
 Presentation modeling
 model user interface, page-layout
Department of Computer Science
33 Govt. College University, Lahore
 SUMMARY
 Introduction to RE
 RE basics
 Requirements specification
 RE Activities
 RE specifics in web engineering
 Modeling Web Applications

Department of Computer Science

34 Govt. College University, Lahore
 References
 Chapter 2, Kappel, G., Proll, B. Reich, S. & Retschitzegger,W. (2006).
Web Engineering, Hoboken, NJ:Wiley & Sons
 Chapter 3, Kappel, G., Proll, B. Reich, S. & Retschitzegger,W. (2006).
Web Engineering, Hoboken, NJ:Wiley & Sons
 Chapter 4, Sommerville, Software Engineering,
ISBN-10: 0-13-703515-2 , PEARSON

Department of Computer Science

35 Govt. College University, Lahore