Requirement elicitation for environmental life cycle processes

To develop a user-satisfying product the most essential ingredient is to understand user\u27s needs and expectations from the system. Lack of communication between the user and the developer results in an unsatifying output from the user\u27s point of view. Thus proper understanding between the stakeholder and the developer is the most important requirement during the development of any system. Requirement elicitation process is one such means of expressing wants and requirements from the system by both the parties. Based on Software Engineering Institute\u27s model, requirement elicitation is a web-based application that allows all the people involved in the system to specify their requirements in a more sophisticated and chronological manner. All the requirements that are specified are passed through various phases when finally a definite and a well-defined set of requirements are defined for further development of the project. An application of requirement elicitation process considered was the manufacturing of 120mm M829E3 armor piercing shell fired by the tank manufactured at the Iowa Army Ammunition Plant (IAAAP). The user specified various phases involved in the manufacturing with their requirements during each phase. Simultaneously developer\u27s also specified their requirements for the same. Thus by passing through all the phases of requirement elicitation a definite set of environmentally considered requirements were defined by both the teams. This thesis describes the various phases of requirement elicitation with respect to the domain of study. It also describes the software approach adopted for designing and developing this web based product

Requirement elicitation and knowledge management utilizing relational database, client server and internet technologies

The first step in any project is a statement of requirements. Requirements specification is an inevitable part of any successful project. However, the rush to convert concepts to products often proves as a big hindrance in the development process of any requirements set. This, in turn, hampers the ability to produce the concept and manage knowledge as originally envisioned. The goal of the thesis is to foster understanding among the different communities affected by the development of the given system. The thesis is based on the principle that the requirements elicitation process for complex system is fundamentally a conversation among the stakeholders that is designers, customers and implementers. The web based tool developed for requirements elicitation allows the stakeholders to pool their respective expertise and viewpoints to resolve requirement issues. This leads to consensus building among the stakeholders and also provides with well-defined, clear, and concise requirements set. The requirements gathered by the tool can help determine the source, applicability, depth, and other factors needed for assessing and implementing integrated, and coherent, requirements set. It also helps the design team identify whether a specific requirement establishes a quantifiable threshold. Moreover, the tool uses the latest technologies of client server architecture, relational database and Internet. This make the tool efficient, portable, easy to debug. The three tier architecture of the tool also facilitates the ease in enhancement. The thesis also emphasizes that research efforts should be directed towards methods and tools needed to improve requirements analysis process and in particular o those providing more support to the elicitation of requirements. A simple lesson that can be learnt is that no one person knows everything about what a system should do. There are always many participants in a successful requirement elicitation effort

Athena: An online proposal development system

Athena - Online Proposal Development System was the first version of a vision of Dr. Richard Botting, Professor, Department of Computer Science at California State University, San Bernardino. The program, a JSP based system incorporating a MySql database, moves the writing, review, and annotation of project proposals into the digital environment. It allows Computer Science Master\u27s students to provide their project proposals online for review and annotation by the committee members

Application of the internet technology and client/server paradigm for the implementation of REPI

There are many problems associated with Requirements Engineering such as defining the system scope, developing understanding among the communities involved in the system to be built, volatility of requirements etc. These problems may lead to poor requirements and therefore cancellation of the system development, or else the development of a system that is unsatisfactory, has high maintenance cost or is unacceptable. By improving Requirements Elicitation, the Requirements Engineering can be improved, leading to a better requirements specification and eventually a better product. Requirements Elicitation requires effective communication among the team members, as communication is the key factor. Easing communications between stakeholders and developers makes the process of Requirements Elicitation easier. REPI guides team members through the elicitation phase using the SEI\u27s framework. REPI forces stakeholders to explicitly describe the requirements resulting in reduced chances of misunderstood requirements, leading to better requirements specification

Applications of internet technology for requirements elicitation

During the Requirements Elicitation part of a project various stakeholders need to be able to communicate their requirements to the developers, and the developers need to be able communicate their understanding back to the stakeholders. Communication between the various members of the project is the key factor during the Requirements Elicitation part of a project. Easing communications between stakeholders and developers makes the process of eliciting requirement easier, leading to better requirements specification and eventually a better product. The Requirements Elicitation Process through Internet (REPI) web site has been designed and implemented to explore this idea. The prototype version of REPI guides project members through the elicitation phase using the Software Engineering Institute\u27s framework for Requirements Elicitation. The REPI web site forces stakeholders to explicitly describe the requirements and encourage early discussion between stakeholders and developers. This decreases the likelihood of misunderstood requirements, leading to better requirements specification

Metadata subsetting framework

The amount of research data online is growing exponentially, scattered across a multitude of locations and stored in various formats on a wide variety of platforms. The value of metadata which assists us in determining the relevance, location, and accessibility of data and related research, has become correspondingly more important. Although there are a number of international standards that govern the format and structure of metadata in specific disciplines, the complexity of these standards makes it difficult for data owners and clearinghouses to create and manage metadata effectively. The Metadata Subsetting Framework is a system that allows metadata clearinghouses to define a subset of a metadata standard, containing the fields most relevant to the specific domain. The system automatically generates an interface specifically customized for the subset, with capabilities for validating user inputs against constraints expressed in the subset. Implemented as a collection of Java components, the system produces a complete in-memory representation of XML Schema documents expressing the structural and data constraints of a subsetted metadata standard. A knowledgeable user builds the subset by manipulating these constraints via a web-based interface. Subsetting makes the metadata entry process easier and less error-prone, thereby improving the quality of metadata.Keywords: Subsetting, Metadata subsetting framework, Metadata standar

Informationssysteme auf der Basis aktiver Hypertextdokumente

Die Arbeit beschäftigt sich mit der Implementierung von Informationssystemen, die mittels Web-Techniken wie etwa der Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), des Hypertext Transport Protocols (HTTP) oder der Extensible Markup Language (XML) erstellt werden. Web-basierte Informationssysteme werden verstärkt eingesetzt, um vollständige Applikationen für die Abwicklung von Geschäftsprozessen zu implementieren. Die Ausgangslage für die Arbeit ist das Fehlen formeller Modelle, mit der solche Systeme umgesetzt werden können, kombiniert mit dem Aufkommen neuer Anwendungsgebiete wie der Business-to-Business-Kopplung mittels Web-basierter Systeme. Im Verlauf der Arbeit werden bestehende Systeme analysiert um darauf aufbauend die Anforderungen für ein Modell zur Beschreibung und Realisierung Web-basierter Anwendungen festzulegen. Das daraus entwickelte Modell stellt die Information, die in solchen Anwendungen ausgetauscht und verarbeitet wird, in den Vordergrund, und setzt als wichtigstes Beschreibungsmittel Hypertextdokumente ein, welche um aktive Komponenten ergänzt zu aktiven Hypertextdokumenten (AHDs) werden. Das Modell für aktive Hypertextdokumente (AHDM) umfaßt ein Informationsmodell, welches den Aufbau aktiver Hypertextdokumente beschreibt, ein Kommunikationsmodell zur Regelung des Informationsaustausches, ein Objektmodell für die Definition des Zusammenspiels der aktiven Bestandteile eines AHDs und ein Laufzeitmodell für die tatsächliche Ausführung der aktiven Bestandteile. Aktive Hypertextdokumente werden als XML-Dokumente realisiert, die entsprechend dem Informationsmodell neben den ursprünglichen Nutzdaten auch Funktionen und Variablen enthalten. Neben dem Modell wird auch eine Vorgehensweise beschrieben, die den Einsatz aktiver Hypertextdokumente erleichtern soll. Die Praktikabilität des Modells wird anhand von Beispielanwendungen demonstriert, die von einfachen, eigenständigen Anwendungen hin zu kooperativen, vernetzten Anwendungen mit mobilen Dokumenten reichen. Die zur Nutzung aktiver Hypertextdokumente notwendigen Werkzeuge werden ebenfalls beschrieben

Experiences in Developing Collaborative Applications Using the World Wide Web “Shell

The components of the World Wide Web, which we call the World Wide Web Shell, provide a framework for collaborative application development in much the same way as an expert system shell does for expert system development. This development is quick enough to support rapid prototyping. Once the collaborative application is developed, the WWW Shell facilitates the distribution of the application and its data to geographically-separated users on diverse computing platforms. We have developed and deployed two collaborative applications, Design Intent and NYNEX Portholes, using the WWW Shell. These applications are described and our experiences developing them with the WWW Shell are detailed. In the process of developing these applications we discovered limitations of the WWW Shell which we present, along with suggested modifications and extensions to address them. KEYWORDS: collaborative application, World Wide Web, rapid prototyping, HTTP server and clients, Portholes, Desig