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.