Software Requirements

Engineering (SI-341)

Lecture # 3
Process

 A process is an organized set of activities, which

transforms inputs to outputs
 We can use synonyms of process such as: procedure,
method, course of action, etc.
 Processes are essential for dealing with complexity in
real world
 Processes document the steps in solving a certain
problem
 They allow knowledge to be reused
 They Allow people to apply the process in their peculiar
but similar problems
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Examples of Processes -

 Aninstruction manual for operating a

microwave oven
 An
instruction manual for assembling a
computer or its parts
A procedure manual for operating a motor
vehicle radio and CD player
 Sucha manual describes the processes, which
should be used to assure the quality of the
software
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Software Processes

 Software engineering, as a discipline, has many

processes
 These processes help in performing different
software engineering activities in an organized
manner
 Requires creativity
 Provides interactions between a wide range of
different people
 Helps in engineering judgment
 Requires background knowledge
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Examples of Software Processes

 Software engineering development process (SDLC)

 Requirements engineering process
 Design process
 Quality assurance process
 Change management process

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Software Requirements
Engineering Process
 Before discussing different aspects of requirements
engineering process, let us discuss the concept of
process models
Process Models
 A process model is a simplified description of a
process presented from a particular perspective
 There may be several different models of the same
process
 No single model gives a complete understanding of
the process being modeled
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Types of Process Model

 Coarse-grain activity models

 Fine-grain activity models
 Role-action models
 Entity-relation models

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Coarse-grain Activity Model

 This type of model provides an overall picture of the

process
 Describes the context of different activities in the
process
 It doesn’t document how to enact a process

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 Context of RE Process in Waterfall
Model
System
requirements
engineering Software
requirements
engineering
Software
design
Programming
and
unit testing
System
testing
System
operation

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 Coarse-grain Activity Model of the
Requirements Engineering Process

Requirements Requirements
Requirements Requirements
Elicitation Analysis and
Specification Validation
Negotiation

User Needs,
Domain Information, Agreed
Existing System Requirements Requirements
Information, Regulations, Document
Standards, Etc. 10
 Spiral Model of RE Process

Informal statement of
requirements

Requirement Requirement analysis

elicitation and negotiation

Requirements START Agreed

document and
requirements
validation report

Requirement
Requirement documentation
validation

Draft requirements
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document
Fine-grain Activity Models

 These are more detailed models of a specific

process, which are used for understanding and
improving existing processes
 Example
 An example of a fine-grain activity model is the
Agile model, specifically using Scrum with
detailed activities within each sprint.

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Role-action Models
 These are models, which show the roles of different
people involved in the process and the actions
which they take
 Example : Online Shopping System

Entity-relation Models
 The models show the process inputs, outputs, and
intermediate results and the relationships between
them
 They are useful in quality management systems
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Requirements Engineering Process

 The process(es) involved in developing system

requirements is collectively known as Requirements
Engineering Process.
RE Process - Inputs and Outputs
Existing
systems
information

Stakeholder Agreed
needs requirements

Organizational Requirements System

standards Engineering Process specification

System
Regulations models

Domain
information

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RE Process – Inputs

It includes:
 Existing system information
 Information about the functionality of systems to
be replaced
 Information about other systems, which interact
with the system being specified
 Stakeholder needs
 Description of what system stakeholders need
from the system to support their work
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RE Process – Inputs

 Organizational standards
Standards used in an organization regarding system
development practice, quality management, etc.
 Regulations
External regulations such as health and safety
regulations, which apply to the system
 Domain information
General information about the application domain of
the system
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RE Process – Outputs

It includes
 Agreed requirements
 A description of the system requirements, which is
understandable by stakeholders and which has been agreed by
them
 System specification
 This is a more detailed specification of the system, which may be
produced in some cases
 System models
 A set of models such as a data-flow model, an object model, a
process model, etc., which describes the system from different
perspectives
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Requirements Engineering
Activities

Requirements Requirements
Requirements Requirements
Elicitation Analysis and
Specification Validation
Negotiation

User Needs,
Domain Information, Agreed
Existing System Requirements Requirements
Information, Regulations, Document
Standards, Etc.
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Requirements Elicitation
Requirements elicitation activity is performed by

 Determining the system requirements through

consultation with stakeholders, from system
documents, domain knowledge, and market studies
 Requirements acquisition or requirements discovery
 Example : Conducting user interviews to gather the preferences and
expectation for new mob app, such as desired feature or usability
concerns.

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Requirements Analysis and
Negotiation
Requirements analysis and negotiation
activity is performed by

 Requirement Analysis is the process of reviewing

and refining gathered requirements to ensure clarity,
completeness, and feasibility, identifying conflicts or
ambiguities among stakeholder needs.
 Requirement Negotiation involves discussing and
reaching an agreement on requirements among
stakeholders, resolving conflicts and making trade-offs
to establish a mutually acceptable set of requirements.
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Requirements Analysis and
Negotiation
 Incomplete and inconsistent information needs to
be tackled here
 Some analysis and negotiation needs to be done on
account of budgetary constraints

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Requirements Specification

Requirements specification includes

 Building a tangible model of requirements using natural

language and diagrams
 Documenting the requirements in a clear, structured
format, often in the form of a Software Requirements
Specification (SRS) document

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Requirements Document

 Detailed descriptions of the required software system in

form of requirements is captured in the requirements
document

 Software designers, developers and testers are the

primary users of the document

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Requirements Validation

 It involves reviewing the requirements model for

consistency and completeness

 This process is intended to detect problems in the

requirements document, before they are used as a
basis for the system development

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Requirements Management
 Although, it is not shown as a separate activity in RE
Process, it is performed through out the requirements
engineering activities.
 Ongoing process of monitoring and controlling
changes to requirements throughout the project
lifecycle.
 Example: Using a requirements management tool to track
changes in the mobile banking app requirements, such as adding a
new feature for biometric login, and ensuring all stakeholders are
informed and that impact assessments are conducted.

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