Linguistic Analysis of Requirements of a Space Project and Their Conformity with the Recommendations Proposed by a Controlled Natural Language

International audienceWe propose a linguistic analysis of requirements written in French for a project carried out by the French National Space Agency (CNES). The aim is to determine to what extent they conform to some of the rules laid down in INCOSE, a recent guide for writing requirements, with a focus on the notion of sentence " comprehensibility ". Although CNES engineers are not obliged to follow any Controlled Natural Language, we believe that language regularities are likely to emerge from this task, mainly due to the writers' experience. As a first step, we use natural language processing tools to identify sentences that do not comply with INCOSE rules. We further review these sentences to understand why the recommendations cannot (or should not) always be applied when specifying large-scale projects, and how they could be improved. This paper presents a corpus linguistics approach applied to the melioration of requirements writing. We propose a linguistic diagnosis of the way requirements are written in a space project by comparing these requirements with a guide for writing specifications (a controlled natural language). Initial results obtained from this analysis suggest that guides for writing specifications are not fully adapted to the real writing process: they are sometimes too constraining, and sometimes insufficiently so. In the medium term, the aim is to propose another guide based on the spontaneous regularities observed in requirements. The paper comprises two parts. In the first one (see section 2), we present the context of our study and the tool-assisted method used for making the diagnosis. In the second one (see section 3), we describe and discuss our preliminary results

Towards the creation of a CNL adapted to requirements writing by combining writing recommendations and spontaneous regularities : example in a Space Project

International audienceThe Quality Department of the French National Space Agency (CNES, Centre National d’Études Spatiales) wishes to design a writing guide based on the real and regular writing of requirements. As a first step in this project, the present article proposes a linguistic analysis of requirements written in French by CNES engineers. One of our goals is to determine to what extent they conform to several rules laid down in two existing Controlled Natural Languages (CNLs), namely the Simplified Technical English developed by the AeroSpace and Defense Industries Association of Europe and the Guide for Writing Requirements proposed by the International Council on Systems Engineering. Indeed, although CNES engineers are not obliged to follow any controlled language in their writing of requirements, we believe that language regularities are likely to emerge from this task, mainly due to the writers’ experience. We are seeking to identify these regularities in order to use them as a basis for a new CNL for the writing of requirements. The issue is approached using natural language processing tools to identify sentences that do not comply with the rules or contain specific linguistic phenomena. We further review these sentences to understand why the recommendations cannot (or should not) always be applied when specifying large-scale projects

A Methodology for Identifying Terms and Patterns Specific to Requirements as a Textual Genre Using Automated Tools

International audienceAs a step in a project whose final goal is to propose a Controlled Natural Language for requirements writing at CNES (Centre National d'Études Spatiales), we intend to build the grammar of the textual genre of the requirements. One of the main issues faced when analyzing our corpus is the (sometimes subtle) difference between the terms and syntactic structures pertaining to the genre and those linked to the domain (in our case, the development of space systems) – a difference that is generally not taken into account by automated tools. In this paper, we present a methodology aimed at detecting candidate terms and textual patterns specific to the genre by combining results obtained from a terminology extractor and a data mining tool with a validated resource in use for indexing documents at CNES. The results are then illustrated by a selection of examples from our corpus

Discourse structure analysis for requirement mining

International audienceIn this work, we first introduce two main approaches to writing requirements and then propose a method based on Natural Language Processing to improve requirement authoring and the overall coherence, cohesion and organization of requirement documents. We investigate the structure of requirement kernels, and then the discourse structure associated with those kernels. This will then enable the system to accurately extract requirements and their related contexts from texts (called requirement mining). Finally, we relate a first experimentation on requirement mining based on texts from seven companies. An evaluation that compares those results with manually annotated corpora of documents is given to conclude

Implementation of a Knowledge Management Methodology based on Ontologies :Case of Tourism

in this paper, we suggest a methodology of knowledge management that makes use of the new possibilities offered by semantic web technologies and covers the various stages of the project life cycle. In fact, with this new vision of ontologies and semantic web, it is important to provide a strong methodological support in order to develop complex ontology-based systems

To What Extent Does Text Simplification Entail a More Optimized Comprehension in Human-Oriented CNLs?

International audienceThe main goal of the current study is to develop a new cockpit controlled language for future Airbus aircraft by using psycholinguistic testing to optimize pilot comprehension. Pilots are aided by cockpit messages in order to deal with different situations during aircraft operations. The current controlled languages used on the Airbus aircraft have been carefully constructed to avoid ambiguity, inaccuracy, inconsistency, and inadequacy (Spaggiari, Beaujard, Cannesson (2003)) in order to ensure the safety of the navigation, operational needs, and the adaptability of the human-computer interaction to different situations in the cockpit. However, this controlled language has several limitations, mostly due to small screen sizes (limited number of words and sentences) and is highly codified (non-conforming to natural language syntax, color-coded and so on) so that it requires prior pilot training in order to achieve fluency. As future cockpit design is under construction, we might be looking at a different flexibility margin. Our experimentation plan is to go against the tide of common CNL (Controlled Natural Language) construction, in the sense that we will not be taking natural language and simplifying it, but rather taking a highly controlled codified language (therefore theoretically most simple) and " complexifying " it (bring it closer to natural language: theoretically most complex) in order to make it more accessible, and limit prior training needs

Undergraduates’ interest towards learning genetics concepts through integrated stemproblem based learning approach

Scientific and innovative society can be produced by giving priorities in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) as emphasized by Malaysian Higher Education Blueprint (2015-2025). STEM need to be implemented at higher education because universities need to produce competent graduates to support economy growth and sustainable development. Learning STEM through Problem Based Learning might allow the undergraduates to become more enthusiastic when problem-based instruction is incorporated with STEM by implementing teamwork and problem-solving techniques to engage the first-year undergraduates fully with the learning. This study was conducted to investigate whether Integrated STEM Problem Based Learning module could enhance and retain the interest towards genetics concepts among first-year undergraduates. Topics in genetics was considered difficult not only to teach but also to learn. In this research, to overcome the genetic concepts learning difficulties, genetic related topics were chosen to introduce STEM through problem-based learning approach, which might help first-year undergraduates to acquire deep genetic content knowledge. This is very vital for the first-year undergraduates, as the knowledge gained in their first semester will be applied in the upcoming courses in their entire undergraduates’ programs of study. A Pre-Experimental research design with one group-posttest design was applied. A total of 50 participants who are first-year undergraduates from Faculty of Biology from one of the public universities in Malaysia were involved. The Genetics Interest Questionnaire used to study if the STEM Problem Based Learning module could enhance and retain the interest towards genetics concepts. The research has proven that Integrated STEM through problem-based learning approach could enhance and retains the interest in learning genetics concepts among first-year undergraduates

Vers la définition de nouvelles langues contrôlées pour limiter le « risque langagier »

International audienceLe propos de cet article est basé sur plusieurs études réalisées depuis une dizaine d'années à CLLE-ERSS, sur les langues contrôlées (CNLs). Le principal constat est que les CNLs ne sont pas toujours adaptées et utilisables. Par ailleurs, l'impact réel de leur mise en oeuvre sur l'amélioration de la « readability » a été très peu évalué. L'article dresse un panorama des problèmes associés aux CNLs et propose de nouvelles pistes de constitution. Dans cet objectif, certaines méthodes de TAL et de psycholinguistique pourraient être mises en oeuvre pour améliorer les CNLs existantes ou en proposer de nouvelles. ABSTRACT Toward the Definition of New Controlled Natural Languages in order to Prevent Risks Related to Language Use. The content of this paper is based on several studies carried out over the last decade in CLLE-ERSS lab, on controlled natural languages (CNLs). It finds that they are not always adapted and usable. Another point is that their impact on readability has not been widely measured. The paper gives an overview of the problems linked to CNLs and proposes new directions for designing them. In this aim, NLP and psycholinguistic methods could be used to improve existing CNLs or to propose new ones