Week 5

 Requirement Analysis - Understand the problem

before you begin to create requirements specification
◦ Don’t solve the wrong problem
 The process of reasoning about the requirements that
have been elicited
 Examining requirements for Conflicts,
Inconsistencies, Omissions, Ambiguity
 Combining related requirements
◦ Categorizing requirements
◦ Organizing requirements into related subsets
 Analyzing requirement feasibility
 Exploring relationship between requirements
 Prioritizing requirements according to the needs of
users
 Requirements Requirement
Checking Specification

Domain
Prioritization
Understanding

Requirements Conflict
Collection Resolution

Classification Requirements
Document
Requ irements analysis

Necessity Consistency and Feasibility

checking completeness checking
checking

Conflicting and Infeasible

Unnecessary incomplete
requirements requirements
requirements

Requirements Requirements Requirements

discussion prioritisation agreement

Requ irements negotiation

 A model is more than just a description
◦ it has its own phenomena, and its own relationships among
those phenomena.
 The model is only useful if the model’s phenomena
correspond in a systematic way to the phenomena of
the domain being modelled.
 Modelling can guide elicitation:
◦ It can help you figure out what questions to ask
◦ It can help to surface hidden requirements
 Modelling can provide a measure of progress:
◦ Completeness of the models -> completeness of the
elicitation (?)
 Modelling can help to uncover problems
◦ Inconsistency in the models can reveal interesting things…
 e.g. conflicting or infeasible requirements, confusion over
terminology, scope, disagreements between stakeholders
 Modelling can help us check our understanding
◦ Reason over the model to understand its consequences
◦ Does it have the properties we expect?
◦ Animate the model to help us visualize/validate the
requirements
 Natural language
◦ extremely expressive and flexible
◦ very poor at capturing the semantics of the model
◦ better used for elicitation, and to annotate models for
communication
 Semi-formal notation
◦ captures structure and some semantics
◦ can perform (some) reasoning, consistency checking,
animation, etc.
 e.g.; diagrams, tables, structured English
◦ mostly visual - for rapid communication with a variety of
stakeholders
 Formal notation
◦ very precise semantics, extensive reasoning possible
◦ long way removed from the application domain
 Modeling Enterprises
◦ Goals & objectives
◦ Organizational structure
◦ Activities, processes, and
products
◦ Agents and work roles
 Modeling Functional
Requirements
◦ Information Structure
◦ Behavioral views
◦ Timing/Sequencing
requirements
◦ Goal modelling:
 KAOS, CREWS
◦ Information modelling:
 E-R, Class Diagrams
◦ Object Oriented Analysis:
 UML
◦ Formal Methods:
 RSML, Z, Larch, VDM
◦ Quality tradeoffs:
 QFD, win-win,

 Modeling Non-functional
Requirements
◦ Product requirements
◦ Process requirements
◦ External requirements
 The first part of a business model is a business use-
case model.
 It consists of one or more use-case diagrams that
contain one or more business use cases.
 Business use cases are documented via specifications
that are
◦ partly text (most important: a workflow description) and
◦ partly graphical (activity diagrams).
 The business use-case model provides the big
picture from a business actor's perspective.
 Business use cases describe business processes.
 These processes are documented as a sequence of
actions that provide observable value to a business
actor
 The second part of a business model is the
 business object model.
 Whereas a business use-case model tells
what a business process will do, a business
object model tells how it will be done.
 It serves as an abstraction of how business
workers and business entities need to be
related and to collaborate in order to perform
the business.
 Part of a business object model. It is a business class
diagram showing business workers (the circles with
stick figures) and business entities.
 Another type of diagram used in a business
object model is a variation of the activity diagram
 A third type of diagram used in a business object
model is the business sequence diagram.
 A sequence diagram briefly describes what
participating business workers do, how they
communicate by sending messages to one another,
and how relevant business entities are manipulated.
 Goal Elaboration:
◦ “Why” questions explore higher goals (context)
◦ “How” questions explore lower goals (operations)
◦ “How else” questions explore alternatives
 Dependency Analysis:
◦ Precedence ordering – must achieve goals in a particular order
◦ Obligation – achieving one goal requires achievement of another
◦ Thwarting – achieving one goal prevents achievement of another
 Obstacles & constraints
◦ Obstacles are behaviors that prevent achievement of a given goal
◦ Constraints are conditions on the achievement of goals
 Obstacle Analysis:
◦ Can this goal be obstructed, if so how?
◦ What are the consequences of obstructing it?
 Task

Soft Goal Agent Hard Goal

Resource
Dependency
link
Arshad Buy a fast
computer Aslam
 Buy a fast
computer

Buy a Computer has

computer to be fast

Must have high

computation power Computer must
Have fast memory

CPU clock >

1 GHz

RISC Multi level

Architecture
512 MB cache
 Buy a
Computer

Buy from
Write Approved
Organize provider
Computer
A tender
Specs

Select
Provider
Inform Select
bidders winner

Approved
providers
bids
 situation 7 action to
1 considered improve the
problematic problem situation
6 changes:
systemically desirable,
culturally feasible

problem comparison of
2 situation models and
expressed real world 5

real world

systems thinking
about real world
3 conceptual models
root definition of systems described
of relevant systems in root definitions 4

source: Checkland: Systems Thinking, Systems Practice

 situation 7 action to
1 considered improve the
problematic problem situation
6 changes:

perceived worry
systemically desirable,
culturally feasible

 2
problem
situation
expressed
comparison of
models and
real world 5

poorly defined ‘mess’ (Ackoff)

real world

 3 conceptual models
systems thinking
about real world
root definition

human complications
of systems described
of relevant systems in root definitions 4


 unsuited to hard systems or OR techniques
 situation 7 action to
1 considered improve the
problematic problem situation
6 changes:
systemically desirable,
culturally feasible

problem comparison of
2 situation models and
expressed real world 5

real world

systems thinking
about real world
3 conceptual models
root definition of systems described
of relevant systems in root definitions 4
 relevant systems are conceptual (in-the-
mind) models of parts of the problem that are
of interest
 they are models which follow systems
principles to help structure the analyst’s
impression of the problem - not definitive
descriptions of systems in the real world
 problems can be represented as they are
perceived by different stakeholders
 short textual statements which
situation 7 action to
1 considered improve the


problematic problem situation
6 changes:
systemically desirable,
culturally feasible

define the important elements of

problem comparison of
2 situation models and
expressed real world 5

the relevant system being

real world

systems thinking
about real world
3 conceptual models
root definition of systems described

modelled - rather like mission

of relevant systems in root definitions 4

statements

they follow the form:

a system to do X by (means of) Y in order to Z

what the system does - X
how it does it - Y
why it’s being done - Z
primary task (relating to basic tasks and structures)
A university owned and operated system to award degrees
and diplomas to suitably qualified candidates (X), by
means of suitable assessment (Y), (in conformance with
national standards), in order to demonstrate the
capabilities of candidates to potential employers (Z).

issue based (relating to temporary or qualitative concerns, or

concerns of judgment)
A university owned and operated system to implement a
quality service (X), by devising and operating procedures
to delight its customers and control its suppliers (Y), in
order to improve its educational products (Z).
a check to ensure that root definitions contain most of what is
important
Customers the victims or beneficiaries of T
Actors those who do T
Transformation input output
Weltanschauung the worldview that makes the T
meaningful in context
Owners those with the power to stop T
Environmental elements outside the system which
constraints are taken as given, but nevertheless affect its
behaviour

A system owned by O to do W by A by means of T given the

constraints of E in order to achieve X for C.…

or any variation of the above that would form a paragraph and make
sense when it is read.
C candidate students
A university staff
T candidate students degree holders and diplomates
W the belief that awarding degrees and diplomas is a good
way of demonstrating the qualities of candidates to
potential employers
O the University governing body
E national educational and assessment standards
 representation of the minimum set of
activities necessary to ‘do’ the root definition
 activities modelled by verbs 1
situation
considered
problematic
7 action to
improve the
problem situation
6 changes:
systemically desirable,
culturally feasible

problem comparison of
2 situation models and
expressed real world 5

real world

systems thinking
about real world
3 conceptual models
root definition of systems described
of relevant systems in root definitions 4
 verb + noun
phrase activity - ‘do something’

A
logical dependency arrow - activity A must
B
come before B, or if activity A is done badly
- so will B

boundary
cook dinner study BIT
eat take BIT
dinner examination

example use
 design
enrol students education
programmes

allot appreciate
educate
resources national
students
standards

award design
degrees + diplomas and carry out
to students reaching assessment
acceptable levels

A university owned and operated system to award degrees and

diplomas to suitably qualified candidates (X), by means of
suitable assessment (Y), (in conformance with national
standards), in order to demonstrate the capabilities of
candidates to potential employers (Z).
 E1 - efficacy (does the system work,
is the transformation
effected)?(desired state )
 E2 - efficiency (the relationship
between the output achieved and the
resources consumed to achieve
it)(the state or quality of being
efficient.)
 E3 - effectiveness (is the longer term
goal (Z) achieved)(the degree to
which something is successful in
producing a desired result; success)
 E1 (efficacy) - are degrees and diplomas
awarded?
 E2 (efficiency) - how many degrees and
diplomas, of what standard, are awarded for
the resource consumed?
 E3 (effectiveness) - do employers find the
degrees and diplomas a useful way of
assessing the qualities of potential
employees?
 root definition
 CATWOE
 activity model
 measures of performance
 A university owned and operated system to award
degrees and diplomas to suitably qualified candidates (X),
by means of suitable assessment (Y), (in conformance with
design national standards), in order to demonstrate the
enroll students education capabilities of candidates to potential employers (Z).
programmes

appreciate
educate allot C candidate students
national
students resources
standards A university staff
T candidate students
award
design degree holders and diplomates
degrees + diplomas W the belief that awarding degrees and
and carry out
to students reaching diplomas is a good way of demonstrating
assessment
acceptable levels take control the qualities of candidates to potential
action employers
monitor for O the University governing body
E1, E2, E3
E national educational and assessment
standards
 E1 (efficacy) - are degrees and diplomas awarded?
 E2 (efficiency) - how many degrees and diplomas, of what standard, are
awarded for the resource consumed?
 E3 (effectiveness) - do employers find the degrees and diplomas a useful way
of assessing the qualities of potential employees?
 each activity may be modelled at a higher
level of resolution - in other words a new
root definition is prepared specific to that
activity and a conceptual model built which
further defines the set of (more detailed)
activities necessary to accomplish it.
 in this way complex situations with many
activities can be modelled without loosing a
sense of the overall shape of the problem
 situation 7 action to
1 considered improve the
problematic problem situation
6 changes:
systemically desirable,
culturally feasible

problem comparison of
2 situation models and
expressed real world 5

real world

systems thinking
about real world
3 conceptual models
root definition of systems described
of relevant systems in root definitions 4

activity is it done in the real situation? comments,

how is it done? recommendations

3
 Each stage , 2 - 6, has a defined output.
◦ Stage 2 - Rich pictures, Relevant Systems
◦ Stage 3 - Root Definitions (CATWOE)
◦ Stage 4 - Conceptual Models built from Root Definitions
◦ Stage 5 - Agenda for possible changes derived from
comparisons
◦ Stage 6 - Agreement on desirable and feasible change
 Conceptual Models should be derived from Root Definitions
and from nothing else
 Conceptual Models should be checked against Root
Definitions
 Conceptual Models are not descriptions of systems to be
engineered
 Don't look for systems in the problem situation - the systems
are created as (conceptual) tools for learning