Exact Requirements Engineering for Developing Business Process Models

Process modeling is a suitable tool for improving the business processes. Successful process modeling strongly depends on correct requirements engineering. In this paper, we proposed a combination approach for requirements elicitation for developing business models. To do this, BORE (Business-Oriented Requirements Engineering) method is utilized as the base of our work and it is enriched by the important features of the BDD (Business-driven development) method, in order to make the proposed approach appropriate for modeling the more complex processes. As the main result, our method eventuates in exact requirements elicitation that adapts the customers' needs. Also, it let us avoid any rework in the modeling of process. In this paper, we conduct a case study for the paper submission and publication system of a journal. The results of this study not only give a good experience of real world application of proposed approach on a web-based system, also it approves the proficiency of this approach for modeling the complex systems with many sub-processes and complicated relationships.Comment: (IEEE) 3th International Conference on Web Researc

Un modelo para la obtención de requisitos de interoperabilidad de sistemas organizacionales

Introduction: this article is the product of the research called a framework to support the elicitation of interoperability requirements (IR) based on the needs of an organization's business processes, developed at the Universidad del Cauca in 2019. Problem: within the requirements elicitation process, stakeholders generally fail to articulate IR according to the business needs, causing the development of systems incompatible with systems in other functional areas. Objective: to identify, define and classify a set of attributes that constitute the interoperability at the business level, which must be considered during the elicitation of an IR. Methodology: the development of the model followed these activities: (i) establishment of the aspects to be considered in the interoperability at the business level, (ii) identification of the attributes that make up each aspect, (iii) definition of the identified attributes and the options that can be obtained in response, and (iv) classification of the attributes. Results: a model that describes 21 attributes that constitute the interoperability at the business level, classified in the following views: emitters and receivers, types of interaction, data flow properties, and conditions to use the communicated data. Conclusion: from the application of the model in the elicitation of a set of IR of two functional areas of an organization, it was identified that the attributes favor the common understanding among members of different areas and support the analysis and planning of the exchanges of information. Originality: to identify and define a set of attributes that constitute interoperability at the business level. Limitations: the model must be used by a process that guides the elicitation of the attributes that make up the IR.Introducción: este artículo es producto de una investigación denominada marco para apoyar la elicitación de requisitos de interoperabilidad (RI) en función de las necesidades de los procesos de negocio de una organización, desarrollada en la Universidad del Cauca en 2019. Problema: dentro del proceso de obtención de requisitos, las partes interesadas a menudo no logran articular los IR de acuerdo con las necesidades del negocio, lo que provoca el desarrollo de sistemas incompatibles con los sistemas en otras áreas funcionales. Objetivo: identificar, definir y clasificar un conjunto de atributos que constituyen la interoperabilidad a nivel empresarial, los cuales deben ser considerados al momento de obtener RI. Metodología: el desarrollo del modelo siguió las siguientes actividades: (i) establecimiento de aspectos a considerar en interoperabilidad a nivel empresarial, (ii) identificación de los atributos que componen cada aspecto, (iii) definición de los atributos identificados y las opciones que pueden ser obtenidas en la respuesta y (iv) clasificación de atributos. Resultados: modelo que describe 21 atributos que constituyen la interoperabilidad a nivel empresarial, clasificados en las siguientes vistas: emisores y receptores, tipos de interacción, propiedades del flujo de datos y condiciones de uso de los datos comunicados. Conclusión: a partir de la aplicación del modelo en la elicitación de un conjunto de RI de dos áreas funcionales de una organización, se identificó que los atributos favorecen el entendimiento común entre miembros de diferentes áreas y apoyan el análisis y planificación del intercambio de información. Originalidad: identificar y definir un conjunto de atributos que constituyen la interoperabilidad a nivel empresarial. Limitaciones: el modelo debe ser utilizado por un proceso que oriente la elicitación de los atributos que componen los RI

Liiketoiminnan analytiikan murros – Tapaustutkimus

The business intelligence (BI) field is changing rapidly. Companies need to be able to refine information from data faster than ever before to stay competitive. This is not an easy task in a world where volume and variety of data is increasing constantly. Social media and devices produce data on a continual basis. The BI market has responded to this challenge by providing self-service platforms that require less technical proficiency. These new tools enable business users to create and refine information more conveniently in cooperation with company IT. As new technologies empower business users and relieve the workload of BI developers, new challenges arise. Managing information flows and data models in an environment with increased number of citizen developers, number of source systems and volume of data requires a clear understanding of related challenges. This work examines a BI culture change in a Finnish energy distribution company divested from a larger energy company in 2014. Effects of moving from IT administered BI development closer to business driven development are examined through a case study research. The case study research identified the cross organizational knowledge, overlapping roles and low technical proficiency requirements of the BI platform as the key components of the improved ability to create BI solutions for business needs. The findings are in line with critical success factors proposed by BI related publications.Liiketoiminnan analytiikassa (Business intelligence) eletään murrosvaihetta. Yritysten tulee kyetä jalostamaan tietoa nopeammin kuin koskaan aikaisemmin säilyttääkseen kilpailukykynsä. Sosiaalinen media sekä sensorit ja laitteet generoivat dataa valtavalla nopeudella sekä vaihtelevissa formaateissa. BI-markkinat ovat reagoineet muutokseen tarjoamalla erilaisia käyttäjäläheisiä tuotteita, jotka vaativat aikaisempaa vähemmän teknistä perehtyneisyyttä. Tuotteet mahdollistavat analytiikan tuottamisen lähempänä varsinaista liiketoimintaa yhteistyössä IT:n kanssa. Kehityksen muuttuminen käyttäjälähtöisemmäksi tuo kuitenkin mukanaan uusia haasteita. Informaatiovirtojen ja datamallien hallinnointi ympäristössä, jossa on aikaisempaa enemmän käyttäjiä, lähdejärjestelmiä sekä dataa vaatii tarkan ymmärryksen aiheeseen liittyvistä haasteista. Tässä työssä tutkitaan BI-kulttuurin muutosta suomalaisessa sähkönsiirtoon erikoistuneessa yrityksessä, joka myytiin omaksi yrityksekseen 2014. Kehityksen muuttumista IT-lähtöisestä enemmän liiketoimintalähtöisemmäksi tutkitaan tapaustutkimuksen avulla. Tapaustutkimus tunnisti organisaatiorajat ylittävän tiedon, yhteiset vastuut kehitystyössä sekä BI-alustan helppokäyttöisyyden tärkeimmiksi tekijöiksi, jotka paransivat yrityksen kykyä toteuttaa liiketoiminnan analytiikkaa. Löydökset olivat linjassa aikaisemman aihepiiriin liittyvän kirjallisuuden kanssa

FIRMa: uma proposta baseada nos instrumentos utilizados pela gestão da informação para auxiliar o processo de gestão de requisitos de software

Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Centro de Ciências da Educação, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciência da Informação, Florianópolis, 2021.Algumas das atividades fundamentais do processo de desenvolvimento de software estão relacionadas à disciplina de Engenharia de Requisitos, uma das áreas da Ciência da Computação cujos objetivos são descobrir, analisar, documentar, verificar e gerir os requisitos que farão parte do software. Os requisitos são as características do sistema, sendo identificados com base em informações fornecidas pelos usuários ou por especialistas no negócio; e a efetiva gestão dessas informações é essencial para garantir que o sistema atenda às necessidades de quem irá utilizá-lo. De acordo com pesquisas, um dos problemas que impactam negativamente o processo de desenvolvimento de software está relacionado com a condução da atividade de gestão dos requisitos do projeto. E, com o intuito de amenizar esse problema, esta tese propõe o FIRMa ? Framework based on Information Management to Requirements Management. Esse framework tem como objetivo auxiliar as atividades do processo de gestão de requisitos a partir da aplicação de instrumentos utilizados pela gestão da informação. Para a elaboração do FIRMa, oito instrumentos foram experimentados em um processo de gestão de requisitos e avaliados em relação a sua complexidade, satisfação, recursos envolvidos e adaptabilidade. Após a sua aplicação e avaliação, os instrumentos considerados passíveis de ser aplicados no contexto da gestão de requisitos e selecionados para compor o FIRMa foram a identificação e classificação das fontes de informação, os glossários, os cabeçalhos de assunto, as taxonomias, os tesauros, as redes semânticas e as ontologias. A presente pesquisa caracteriza-se quanto à natureza como uma pesquisa aplicada, objetivando a solução de problemas do mundo real; quanto aos objetivos como exploratória e descritiva; e quanto à abordagem utiliza-se de métodos mistos, uma vez que associa formas de pesquisa qualitativa e quantitativa em um mesmo estudo. E, quanto aos procedimentos metodológicos, foi escolhida a pesquisa bibliográfica para a compreensão dos conceitos relacionados à gestão da informação e à gestão de requisitos, tendo sido utilizado para a construção do framework o método Design Science Research. Após definidas as diretrizes para o seu uso, o framework foi avaliado por um grupo de 18 especialistas da área da Engenharia de Requisitos, que deram a sua opinião sobre cada um dos instrumentos empregados pela gestão da informação selecionados para fazerem parte da sua estrutura, bem como sobre as etapas definidas e as diretrizes elaboradas para a sua utilização. Os resultados da avaliação demonstraram que o FIRMa pode vir a contribuir com as atividades do processo de gestão de requisitos e consequentemente aumentar as chances de sucesso do projeto.Abstract: Some of the software development process's fundamental activities are related to the discipline of Requirements Engineering, one of Computer Science areas. Their objectives are to discover, analyze, document, verify and manage the requirements that will be part of the software. The requirements are the system's characteristics and are identified based on information provided by users or experts in the business, and the effective management of this information is essential to ensure that the system meets the needs of those who will use it. According to research, one of the problems that negatively impact the software development process is related to the conduct of the project requirements management activity, and to alleviate this problem, this thesis proposes the FIRMa - Framework based on Information Management to Requirements Management. This framework aims to assist the requirements management process activities from applying tools used for information management. For elaborating the FIRMa, eight tools were tested in a requirements management process and evaluated their complexity, satisfaction, resources involved, and adaptability. After its application and evaluation, the tools considered likely to be applied of requirements management and selected to compose the FIRMa were: the identification and classification of information sources, glossaries, subject headings, taxonomies, thesauri, semantic networks, and ontologies. The present research is characterized as to its nature as applied research, aiming at the solution of real-world problems; as to the objectives as exploratory and descriptive; as for the approach, mixed methods are used, since it combines forms of qualitative and quantitative research in the same study. Was used bibliographic research as for the methodological procedures to understand the concepts related to information management and requirements management, and for the construction of the framework, was use the Design Science Research method. After defining the guidelines for its use, the framework was evaluated by a group of 18 specialists in the area of Requirements Engineering, who gave their opinion about each of the tools used by the information management selected to be part of their structure, as well as on the defined steps and guidelines developed for its use. The evaluation results demonstrated that the FIRMa can contribute to the activities of the requirements management process and consequently increase the chances of success of the project