Building System Models for RE

Chapter 14
Integrating multiple system views

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 Integrating Multiple System Views: outline

 A meta-model for view integration

– Overall structure of the meta-model
– The goal meta-model
– The object meta-model
– The agent meta-model
– The operation meta-model
– The behaviour meta-model
 Inter-view consistency rules
 Grouping related view fragments into packages

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 A meta-model for view integration

 What is meta-model?
– Is a model that defines and interrelates conceptual abstractions in
terms of which other models are defined.
– Is a conceptual model for the meta level.
– Consisting of meta-level concepts, relationships, attributes and
constraints.

 Three different levels of modeling:

– The meta level: refers to domain-independent abstractions.
– The domain level: refers to concepts specific to the modeled
system (library, loan, block, signal, …).
– The instance level: refers to specific instances of domain-
level concepts in the running system.
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 A meta-model for view integration: example

Goal Responsibility Performance Input Entity Link

Agent Operation
Association
meta-concept meta-relationship

Responsibility BookCopy Book

CopyReturnedOnTime
Patron Copy
If Borrowed
Performs Input Instance
concept
Borrow

Responsibility info/40/123 L.Dupré,

CopyReturnedBy
Axel Copy Bugs in Writing
11/11/07
Performs Input
concept instance
Borrow

Figure 14.1 – The meta, domain, and instance levels

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 Role of a meta-model

 Define the structure of modeling languages and a meta-language for

describing it
 Provide a framework within which intra- and inter-view consistency
rules can be defined
 Yield the logical schema of model database
 Allows modeling methods to be defined
 Summarizes the features of modeling language or method and allows
variants of a language or method to be compared
 Provide a solid basis for tool support and integration

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 Overall structure of the meta-model

 A system model is made up of five views.

 The root meta-concept SystemModel aggregates of five meta-
concepts corresponding to those views.
 Every meta-concept in meta-model is characterized by meta-
attributes and meta-relationships.
 Two meta-attributes are mandatory for any meta-concept whaterver
view it refers to: Name and Def
SystemModel

GoalModel ObjectModel AgentModel OperationModel BehaviorModel

Figure 14.2 - Overall metamodel structure

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 The goal meta-model

GoalModel

Resolution SoftGoal
[FitCriterion]
BoundaryCondition Goal
ObstructedBy 1..*
[Category] * Name BehavioralGoal Achieve
[Likelihood] Def [FormalSpec]
[Criticality] Divergence [Category] Maintain/Avoid
[FormalSpec] [Priority]
[Source]
1..* [Stability] Expectation
1 LeafGoal
Obstacle OR-Ref
* AND-Ref Requirement
DomDescript *
OR-ref * Refinement
AND-ref
* [Status]
O-Refinement *
[Tactic]
[Status] [SysRef]

Figure 14.3 – The goal metamodel

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 The object meta-model

ObjectModel
DomDescript DomInvar
Name
Concern Def
Goal Object DomHyp
1..* 1..* Name [FormalSpec]

Link Def
2..* InstanceOf DomInit
Role
Multiplicity
Attribute Range
Position

Association Entity Event Agent ValuesIn

Rigidity
Multiplicity
Specialization
ApplicationSpecific Built-In
Aggregation

Figure 14.4 – The object metamodel

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 The agent meta-model

AgentModel

dependum Dependency dependee

Agent *
Goal
Wish depender Name
Def Monitoring Association
OR-Ass Ass [Load]
LeafGoal 1 1..* Assignment
1..* 1 0..1 Control Attribute
[SysRef] stateVar

Requirement Expectation SoftwareToBeAgent EnvironmentAgent

1..* 1..* Responsibility 1 1
Responsibility

Figure 14.5 – The agent metamodel

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 The operation meta-model

OperationModel
InternalEvent

Instance
Operation
LeafGoal 1..* 1..* Name Input Association
Def
DomPre Output Attribute
Operationalization stateVar
DomPost
[ReqPre] [Category]
[ReqTrig] 1..* Performance 1
[ReqPost] Agent

Figure 14.6 – The operation metamodel

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 The behaviour meta-model
BehaviorModel

Class 1..* 1..* Instance

Coverage 1 Coverage Coverage Goal
Goal AgentSM Agent Scenario
BehaviorOf
0..* Episode
Controlled 1..* History
Association
Variable 1..*
StateMachine
Attribute 1 1 TimelineSlice
1..* Path
Sequential Parallel 1..*
State
Composition Composition Interaction
1 1
Input Output 0..1 Guard
1..* 1..* 1..*
Label 1 1
Transition * Operation
Source Target InteractionEvent

0..1 Event
Instance

ExternalEvent InternalEvent

Figure 14.7 – The behavior metamodel

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 Inter-view consistency rules

 Two views of a system model are said to be structurally

consistent if they satisfy a set of rules constraining their
respective elements for compatibility and complementarity.
 Many structural consistency rules have the following pattern:
– For every item it1 satisfying some property P1(it1) in view
V1,
there exists a corresponding item it2 in view V2 that
satisfies some property P2(it1, it2) linking it1 and it2.

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 Some structural consistency rules

 Structural consistency of the goal and object models

– Every conceptual item referred to in a goal specification in
the goal model must appear as an attribute or object in the
object model.
– Every goal in the goal model must concern at least one
object in the object model.
– For every object in the object model, there must be at
least one goal in the goal model concerning with it.
 Structural consistency of the goal and behaviour models
– Every scenario in the behaviour model must be covered by
at least one goal in the goal model.
 The other structural consistency rules: ref. textbook(494).
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 Grouping related view fragments into packages

 A package is a container in which model parts are defined and

grouped together.

LibraryModel package OperationlModel

GoalModel

GoalModel Functional Performance Development Software Staff

ObjectModel Goals Operations Tasks
Goals Goals
Goals
Agent Operation Behavior Usability Interoperability Legacy
Model Model Model Goals Goals Components

package containing dependency

other packages LibraryModel

Catalog BiblioSearch Journal

System System Management
import
<<import>>
dependency
Loan BookAcquisition
System
System

Figure 14.8 - Model packaging

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 Integrating Multiple System Views: Summary

 A meta-model for view integration

– Overall structure of the meta-model
– The goal meta-model
– The object meta-model
– The agent meta-model
– The operation meta-model
– The behaviour meta-model
 Inter-view consistency rules
 Grouping related view fragments into packages

www.wileyeurope .com/college/van lamsweerde Chap.14: Integrating multiple system views © 2009 John Wiley and Sons 15