1 research outputs found
A practical guide to Message Structures: a modelling technique for information systems analysis and design
Despite the increasing maturity of model-driven software development (MDD),
some research challenges remain open in the field of information systems (IS).
For instance, there is a need to improve modelling techniques so that they
cover several development stages in an integrated way, and they facilitate the
transition from analysis to design. This paper presents Message Structures, a
technique for the specification of communicative interactions between the IS
and organisational actors. This technique can be used both in the analysis
stage and in the design stage. During analysis, it allows abstracting from the
technology that will support the IS, and to complement business process
diagramming techniques with the specification of the communicational needs of
the organisation. During design, Message Structures serves two purposes: (i) it
allows to systematically derive a specification of the IS memory (e.g. a UML
class diagram), (ii) and it allows to reason the user interface design using
abstract patterns. This technique is part of Communication Analysis, a
communication-oriented requirements engineering method, but it can be adopted
in order to extend widely-used business process and functional requirements
modelling techniques (e.g. BPMN, Use Cases). Moreover, the paper presents two
tools that support Message Structures, one uses the Xtext technology, and the
other uses the Eclipse Modelling Framework. Industrial experience has shown us
that the technique can be adopted and applied in complex projects.Comment: 30 pages, 10 figures. It includes the same content both in English
and in Spanis