Evaluation of a Legally Binding Smart-Contract Language for Blockchain Applications

Blockchain governs inter-organizational business processes and enables decentralized autonomous organizations (DAO) with governance capabilities via smart contracts (SC). Due to the programmer’s lack of prior knowledge of the contract domain, SCs are ambiguous and error-prone. Several works, i.e., SPESC, Symboleo, and SmaCoNat, exist to support the legally-binding SCs. The aforementioned SCLs present intriguing approaches to building legally-binding SCs but either lack domain completeness, or are intended for non-collaborative business processes. In our previous work, we address the above-mentioned shortcomings of the XML-based smart-legal-contract markup language (SLCML), in which blockchain developers focus on the contractual workflow rather than the syntax specifics. However, SLCML, as a blockchain-independent formal specification language, is not evaluated to determine its applicability, usefulness, and usability for establishing legally-binding SCs for workflow enactment services (WES) to automate and streamline the business processes within connected organizations. In accordance with this, we formally implement the SLCML and propose evaluation approaches, such as running case and lab experiments, to demonstrate the SLCML’s generality and applicability for developing legally-binding SCs. Overall, the results of this work ascertain the applicability, usefulness, and usability of the proposed SLCML for establishing legally-binding SCs for WES

Blockchain-based Digital Twins:Research Trends, Issues, and Future Challenges

Industrial processes rely on sensory data for decision-making processes, risk assessment, and performance evaluation. Extracting actionable insights from the collected data calls for an infrastructure that can ensure the dissemination of trustworthy data. For the physical data to be trustworthy, it needs to be cross validated through multiple sensor sources with overlapping fields of view. Cross-validated data can then be stored on the blockchain, to maintain its integrity and trustworthiness. Once trustworthy data is recorded on the blockchain, product lifecycle events can be fed into data-driven systems for process monitoring, diagnostics, and optimized control. In this regard, digital twins (DTs) can be leveraged to draw intelligent conclusions from data by identifying the faults and recommending precautionary measures ahead of critical events. Empowering DTs with blockchain in industrial use cases targets key challenges of disparate data repositories, untrustworthy data dissemination, and the need for predictive maintenance. In this survey, while highlighting the key benefits of using blockchain-based DTs, we present a comprehensive review of the state-of-the-art research results for blockchain-based DTs. Based on the current research trends, we discuss a trustworthy blockchain-based DTs framework. We also highlight the role of artificial intelligence in blockchain-based DTs. Furthermore, we discuss the current and future research and deployment challenges of blockchain-supported DTs that require further investigation.</p

Process Support for Requirements Engineering : A Requirements Engineering Tool Evaluation Approach

Requirements engineering (RE) tools are software tools which provide automated assistance during the RE process. However, the RE practice relies on office tools rather than RE-tools provided by various companies. Reasons for not using the RE-tools include financial causes. The part of the problem also lies in the difficulty to evaluate such tools before acquisition to support the RE process. Hence, to support the completeness and effectiveness of RE-tool evaluation, a sound framework providing methodological guidelines is needed. This work proposes an RE-tool evaluation approach (R-TEA), which provides a systematic way of the RE-tool assessment using two evaluation frameworks. The framework for the functional RE-tool requirements consists of three dimensions: representation, agreement, and specification. The representation dimension deals with the degree of formality, where requirements are described using informal, semiformal and formal languages. The agreement dimension deals with the degree of agreement among project participants through communication means. The specification dimension deals with the degree of requirements understanding and completeness at a given time moment. The second framework categorises the non-functional RE-tool features to process, product, and external requirements. Process requirements characterise constraints placed upon the user’s work practice. Product requirements specify the desired qualitative characteristics of RE-tools. External requirements are derived from the user’s internal and external environment. Both frameworks are applied to a specification exemplar which application initiates preparation of the requirements specification for the RE-tool selection. Assessment of the RE-tools’ compatibility to the specified RE-tool requirements is performed using different evaluation techniques. Decision about RE-tool selection is made after summarising all the assessment results. A prototype tool is developed supporting the frameworks and R-TEA. The R-TEA method is tested in a number of case studies. The findings report on positive trends of the frameworks, prototype and the R-TEA method