A Requirements Analyst's Apprentice: A Proposal

The Requirements Analyst's APprentice (RAAP) partially automates the modeling process involved in creating a software requirement. It uses knowledge of the specific domain and general experience regarding software requirements to guide decisions made in the construction of a requirement. RAAP assists the analyst by maintaining consistency, detecting redundancy of description, and analyzing completeness relative to a known body of requirements experience. RAAP is a tool to be used by an analyst in his dealings with the customer. It helps him translate the customer's informal ideas into a requirements knowledge base. RAAP will have the ability to present its internal representation of the requirement in document form. Document-based requirements analysis is the state of the art. A computer-based, knowledge-based analysis system can provide improvement in quality, efficiency and maintainability over document-based requirements analysis and thus advance the state of the art towards automatic programming. RAAP takes a new approach to automating software development by concentrating on the modeling process involved in system construction (as opposed to the model translation process.) By supporting the intelligent creation of perspicuous models, it is hoped that flaws will become self revealing and the quality of software can be improved. Assistance is proved or the creation of "correct" models and for the analysis of the implications of modeling decisions.MIT Artificial Intelligence Laborator

Electronic data interchange : an implementation methodology

The purpose of the research is to propose and evaluate a methodology for implementing EDI to assist organisations in reaping the anticipated benefits. The research involved the systematic analysis of the state of the art of EDI and paradigms of methodologies, to define a model for the EDI implementation methodology, and to define criteria for evaluating such a model. The methodology was developed and modelled utilising the software process model, as adopted by Boehm (1988) and later duPlessis and van der Walt (1992), as a framework. Next a synthesis of the assimilated knowledge and brainstorming of project teams involved in EDI pilot projects, was used to systematically develop an EDI implementation methodology. The methodology was evaluated by utilising it in the implementation of EDI between two organisations, Computer Equipment Brokers (PTY) and Marksec (PTY). It was concluded that the methodology was efficient for implementing EDI.ComputingM. Sc. (Information Systems