Change Impact Analysis based on Formalization of Trace Relations for Requirements

Evolving customer needs is one of the driving factors in software development. There is a need to analyze the impact of requirement changes in order to determine possible conflicts and design alternatives influenced by these changes. The analysis of the impact of requirement changes on related requirements can be based on requirements traceability. In this paper, we propose a requirements metamodel with well defined types of requirements relations. This metamodel represents the common concepts extracted from some prevalent requirements engineering approaches. The requirements relations in the metamodel are used to trace related requirements for change impact analysis. We formalize the relations. Based on this formalization, we define change impact rules for requirements. As a case study, we apply these rules to changes in the requirements specification for Course Management System

Requirements and Tools for Variability Management

Explicit and software-supported Business Process Management has become the core infrastructure of any medium and large organization that has a need to be efficient and effective. The number of processes of a single organization can be very high, furthermore, they might be very similar, be in need of momentary change, or evolve frequently. If the ad-hoc adaptation and customization of processes is currently the dominant way, it clearly is not the best. In fact, providing tools for supporting the explicit management of variation in processes (due to customization or evolution needs) has a profound impact on the overall life-cycle of processes in organizations. Additionally, with the increasing adoption of Service-Oriented Architectures, the infrastructure to support automatic reconfiguration and adaptation of business process is solid. In this paper, after defining variability in business process management, we consider the requirements for explicit variation handling for (service based) business process systems. eGovernment serves as an illustrative example of reuse. In this case study, all local municipalities need to implement the same general legal process while adapting it to the local business practices and IT infrastructure needs. Finally, an evaluation of existing tools for explicit variability management is provided with respect to the requirements identified.

Realising benefits in primary healthcare infrastructures

Purpose: This paper focuses upon the requirements to manage change, tangible and intangible benefits in a joint approach to deliver outputs on time, to quality and cost without failing to realise the benefits of the change. The aim of the paper is to demonstrate the need for benefits driven programme/project management as well as the importance of identifying the stakeholders’ level of involvement and contribution throughout the process, and manage their expectations. Design/methodology/approach: The methodology used is based on an action research approach, combining findings from a literature review and case studies within UK’s primary healthcare sector. Findings: Findings demonstrate development of a Benefits Realisation (BeReal) approach in healthcare through looking at case studies taking place within UK’s primary and acute healthcare sector Research limitations/implications: The framework development is based upon theoretical evidence and further research is needed to test and validate its robustness. Originality/value: The application of Benefits Realisation and Management in developing and delivering primary healthcare facilities. Keywords: Benefits management, Benefits realisation, healthcare infrastructures, process and LIF

Tinjauan Sistematis Terhadap Persyaratan Manajemen Perubahan dalam Proyek Pengembangan

Changes in software development are unavoidable and can occur due to changing needs of users, stakeholders, and the presence of new technologies. Analysis of the impact of changes greatly affects the cost and time of project work that can affect the success of the project. With the analysis, can help reduce the impact caused. Therefore, proper change management in software development projects is required. In this paper we present a review of the need for change management in software development. The writing of this paper is done to answer the problems that arise based on the discussion of the journals studied. The problems include: 1. what are the causes of change management, 2. What is the impact of change? 3. What methods can be used to cope with change? 4. What tools can be used to cope with change? The method used in writing this review is to draw conclusions based on the discussion obtained from the grouping of journals related to change management and the need for change management sourced from ScienceDirect and IEEE. The results obtained from this review are to answer four questions that arise and draw conclusions about the methods and tools that are often used in large case studies in change management. The method that is often used to support the management of requirements change is Requirements Change Management (RCM). RCM consists of 3 stages (1) Understanding changes (2) Analysis of changes and (3) Finalizing changes to this method can be assisted with web tools. The web is often used to support change management needs because it can be used to manage quantitative and qualitative data. Keywords: Change Management; Software Development, Requirement Change Management (RCM

Implementing centralised IT service management: drawing lessons from the public sector

[Abstract]: The IT service management model represents a paradigm shift for IT organisations as it deemphasizes the management of IT assets and focuses on the provision of quality end-to-end IT services. This paper presents part of an in-depth study that examines the experience of a government agency, Queensland Health, in the implementation of a centralised IT service management model based on the ITIL framework. The paper sheds light on the challenges and breakthroughs, distils a set of critical success factors and offers a learning opportunity for other organisations. Outsourcing some activities and tool requirements to vendors was seen as one contributor to success although ensuring effective technology transfer to in-house staff was also necessary. Another success factor was centralisation of IT services. Commitment of senior management was also crucial as was a recognition of the need for effective change management to transform the organisational culture to a service-oriented focus

An integrated requirements management system for construction projects

Within the AEC/FM Industry, the current paper-based system used to manage client requirements information and the change request process lacks efficiency and effectiveness. Traditionally, requirements management has principally been focused at the early stages of a construction project where elicited client requirements information is used as the basis for design and does not extend to later phases. Links between corresponding requirements at different phases do not exist which makes traceability difficult. There are no methods to keep track of client requirements and the changes in a satisfactory way that take a whole lifecycle approach. Construction organisations, like other engineering related businesses, are turning to computer systems (to replace current manual and paper intensive processes) in their quest for practical ways to facilitate requirements information management. This paper presents a prototype system for client requirements information management taking a whole lifecycle approach. It comprises of integrated components made up of a repository and change management system (CMS). The prototype was developed following case studies of construction projects and interviews with construction experts in order to fully understand the need for such a system. The applicability and effectiveness of the prototype will be validated using a focus group made up of various construction stakeholders and academic practitioners

An Architecture for Integrated Intelligence in Urban Management using Cloud Computing

With the emergence of new methodologies and technologies it has now become possible to manage large amounts of environmental sensing data and apply new integrated computing models to acquire information intelligence. This paper advocates the application of cloud capacity to support the information, communication and decision making needs of a wide variety of stakeholders in the complex business of the management of urban and regional development. The complexity lies in the interactions and impacts embodied in the concept of the urban-ecosystem at various governance levels. This highlights the need for more effective integrated environmental management systems. This paper offers a user-orientated approach based on requirements for an effective management of the urban-ecosystem and the potential contributions that can be supported by the cloud computing community. Furthermore, the commonality of the influence of the drivers of change at the urban level offers the opportunity for the cloud computing community to develop generic solutions that can serve the needs of hundreds of cities from Europe and indeed globally.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figure

Toward the Design and Implementation of Traceability Engineering Tool Support

Requirements of a system keep on changing based on the need of stakeholders or the system developers, making requirement engineering an important aspect in software development. This develops a need for appropriate requirement change management. The importance of requirements traceability is defining relationships between the requirements and artefacts extracted by the stakeholder during the software development life-cycle and gives vital information to encourage software understanding. In this paper, we have concentrated on developing a tool for requirement traceability that can be used to extend the requirement elicitation and identification of system-wide qualities using the notion of quality attribute scenarios to capture the non-functional requirements. It allows us to link the functional and non-functional requirements of the system based on the quality attribute scenarios template proposed by the Carnegie Mellon Software Engineering Institute (SEI). Apart from this, the paper focuses on tracing the functional and non-functional requirements of the system using the concept of requirement traceability matrix