Lessons Learned from and for Requirements Engineering and Building Construction:
A Case Study of Requirements Engineering for a Synagogue Kitchen with Use Cases and Scenarios

Daniel M. Berry

Cheriton School of Computer Science
University of Waterloo
Waterloo, ON, Canada

Abstract:

Context and Motivation
Use cases and scenarios (UCaSs) are used in Requirements Engineering (RE) to illustrate a system's interactions with its users' roles to achieve the users' functional goals. UCaSs help achieve completeness in the specification of the system's requirements, to achieve an alignment between the needs of the system's client and the ultimate implemented system.

Question/Problem
Are UCaSs and other RE techniques applicable to the requirements analysis for building construction?

Principal Ideas/Results
This talk reports a case study of action research, describing an experience by the authors in applying UCaSs to help determine the requirements for a synagogue kitchen. The authors conducted a UCaS-driven requirements analysis and a flow analysis based on the original kitchen plan, produced by a professional architect. These analyses allowed the authors (1) to expose the lack of essential features for a synagogue kitchen, (2) to produce an improved plan for the kitchen, and (3) to demonstrate to the synagogue kitchen's client why the improved plan should better satisfy his requirements.

Contribution
The case study provides a set of lessons learned for RE and for Architecture, Engineering, and Construction.

Joint work with Cyril Mauger

Briefer Abstract

The largest source of defects in delivered software is the lack of a complete requirements specification, sometimes because the requirements are not understood by the software's stakeholders. The problem is not just with software, but with other engineerings and architecture. This talk describes how a lack of understanding of a kosher kitchen's requirements led to its being built not able to meet its fundamental requirements.