Processing Narratives

Narratives
• Narratives are sequences of events or
actions that describe a particular situation
or scenario. In the context of software
engineering, narratives can include
various forms of descriptions such as user
stories, use cases, scenarios, or even
verbal descriptions from stakeholders.
 Narratives in SE
• Understanding narratives is crucial in
software engineering because they form the
basis of requirements gathering and system
design. By understanding the sequence of
events and actions described in narratives,
software engineers can accurately capture
user needs, identify system behavior, and
guide the development process effectively.
Overview of Flow-Oriented
Modeling
• Flow-oriented modeling is an approach to
software development that emphasizes
understanding and modeling the flow of
actions or events within a system. It
focuses on visualizing how data and
control flow through a system, which
aligns well with processing narratives to
understand system behavior.
 Types of Process Narratives in SE

• Narratives are essentially stories or sequences of events

that describe a particular scenario or situation. In
software engineering, narratives are often used to
describe how users interact with a system, the tasks they
perform, and the expected outcomes.

User Stories: Short descriptions from the perspective of an end

user describing a feature or functionality they desire.
Use Cases: Descriptions of interactions between an actor (usually a
user) and the system to achieve a specific goal.
Scenarios: Detailed descriptions of specific situations or sequences
of events that illustrate system behavior in various contexts.
 Why Process Narratives?
• Understanding User Needs and
Requirements

• Identifying System Behavior

• Guiding System Design and Development

 Components…
• Parsing:
Parsing involves breaking down narratives into manageable parts or components.
This step is essential for extracting relevant information from the narrative text. In
narrative processing, parsing may involve identifying key elements such as actors,
actions, events, and outcomes

• Analysis:
Analysis refers to the process of understanding the context, relationships, and
implications of the information contained within the narrative. This step involves
examining the parsed components of the narrative to identify patterns,
dependencies, and potential conflicts.

• Synthesis:
Synthesis involves reconstructing the narrative in a structured format that facilitates
system understanding and communication. This step may include organizing the
parsed and analyzed information into diagrams, models, or other visual
representations.