Requirements analysis and specification

CSE432 Object-Oriented Software Engineering

Requirements analysis and system specification

Why is it one of first activities in software life cycle?

Need to understand what customer wants first! Goal is to understand the customers problem Though customer may not fully understand it!

Requirements analysis says: Make a list of the guidelines we will use to know when the job is done and the customer is satisfied.

AKA requirements gathering or requirements engineering

System specification says: Heres a description of what the program will do (not how) to satisfy the requirements.

Distinguish requirements gathering & system analysis? A top-level exploration into the problem and discovery of whether it can be done and how long it will take

Evolutionary requirements
Requirements are capabilities and conditions to which the system and the project must conform A prime challenge of requirements analysis is to find, communicate, and remember what is really needed, in the form that clearly speaks to the client and development team members.

Functional (what behaviors it does) and non-functional (how it does them)

Functional requirements describe system behaviors

Priority: rank order the features wanted in importance Criticality: how essential is each requirement to the overall system? Risks: when might a requirement not be satisfied? What can be done to reduce this risk?

Non-functional requirements describe other desired attributes of overall system

Product cost (how do measure cost?) Performance (efficiency, response time? startup time?) Portability (target platforms?), binary or byte-code compatibility? Availability (how much down time is acceptable?) Security (can it prevent intrusion?) Safety (can it avoid damage to people or environment?) Maintainability (in OO context: extensibility, reusability)

"Editor with undo"

A very simple, initial requirements spec

Why might a small and concise initial spec be a good idea? Fosters initial buy-in and agreement by everyone on team Traditional real-world specs are usually much longer

Whats the purpose of a purpose or vision statement? Why is scope important? Why a glossary of terms and definitions? Business case and user perspective:

Business context and case: Who wants it and why? User characteristics: profile of user community, expected expertise with system & domain User objectives: wish list from users perspective Interface requirements: GUI, API, communication interfaces, software interfaces

FURPS+ model
(Grady 1992) FURPS is a checklist for requirements: Functional (features, capabilities, security) Usability (human factors, help, documentation) Reliability (frequency of failure, recoverability, predictability) Performance (response time, throughput, accuracy, availability, resource usage) Supportability (adaptability, maintainability, internationalization, configurability)

Whats with the + in FURPS+?

And dont forget. Implementation (resource limitation, language and tools, hardware) Interface (constraints posed by interfacing with external systems) Operations (system management in its operational setting) Packaging (for example, a physical box) Legal (licensing)

Desiderata for a requirements specification

Should say what, not how. Why? Correct: does what the client wants, according to specification Like motherhood and apple piehow to accomplish it? Ask the client: keep a list of questions for the client Prototyping: explore risky aspects of the system with client Verifiable: can determine whether requirements have been met But how do verify a requirement like user-friendly or it should never crash? Unambiguous: every requirement has only one interpretation Consistent: no internal conflicts If you call an input "Start and Stop" in one place, don't call it "Start/Stop" in another Complete: has everything designers need to create the software Understandable: stakeholders understand enough to buy into it Tension between understandability and other desiderata? Modifiable: requirements change! Changes should be noted and agreed upon, in the spec!

Use cases
First developed by Ivar Jacobson

Now part of the UML (though not necessarily object-oriented) Emphasizes users point of view Explains everything in the users language

A "use case" is a set of cases or scenarios for using a system, tied together by a common user goal

Essentially descriptive answers to questions that start with What does the system do if E.g., What does the auto-teller do if a customer has just deposited a check within 24 hours and theres not enough in the account without the check to provide the desired withdrawal? Use case describes what the auto-teller does in that situation

Use case model = the set of all use cases Why are use cases good for brainstorming requirements?

Brief Use Case format

Brief format narrates a story or scenario of use in prose form, e.g.:
Rent Videos. A Customer arrives with videos to rent. The Clerk enters their ID, and each video ID. The System outputs information on each. The Clerk requests the rental report. The System outputs it, which is given to the Customer with their videos.

Fully dressed Use Case (from Fowler & Scott, UML Distilled)
Use Case: Buy a Product (Describe users goal in users language) Actors: Customer, System (Why is it a good idea to define actors?) 1. Customer browsers through catalog and selects items to buy 2. Customer goes to check out 3. Customer fills in shipping information (address; next-day or 3-day delivery) 4. System presents full pricing information, including shipping 5. Customer fills in credit card information 6. System authorizes purchase 7. System confirms sale immediately 8. System sends confirming email to customer (Did we get the main scenario right?) Alternative: Authorization Failure (At what step might this happen?) 6a. At step 6, system fails to authorize credit purchase Allow customer to re-enter credit card information and re-try Alternative: Regular customer (At what step might this happen?) 3a. System displays current shipping information, pricing information, and last four digits of credit card information 3b. Customer may accept or override these defaults Return to primary scenario at step 6

Scenario, use case and goal

A scenario is a specific sequence of actions and interactions in a use case.

One path through the use case E.g., The scenario of buying a product

A use case is a collection of success and failure scenarios describing an actor using a system to support a goal.

Heuristics for writing use case text

Avoid implementation specific language in use cases, such as IF-THEN-ELSE or GUI elements or specific people or depts Which is better: The clerk pushes the OK button. or: The clerk signifies the transaction is done.? The latter defers a UI consideration until design. Write use cases with the users vocabulary, the way a users would describe performing the task Use cases never initiate actions; actors do. Actors can be people, computer systems or any external entity that initiate an action. Use case interaction produces something of value to an actor Create use cases & requirements incrementally and iteratively Start with an outline or high-level description Work from a vision and scope statement Then broaden and deepen, then narrow and prune

More use case pointers

Add pre-conditions and post-conditions in each use case:

What is the state of affairs before and after use case occurs? Why?

Some analysts distinguish between business and system use cases:

System use cases focus on interaction between actors within a software system Business use cases focuses on how a business interacts with actual customers or events Fowler prefers to focus on business use cases first, then come up with system use cases to satisfy them Note iterative approach in developing use cases, too

Text and Diagrams

Use case text provides the detailed description of a particular use case Use case diagram provides an overview of interactions between actors and use cases

Use case diagram

Birds eye view of use cases for a system Stick figures represent actors (human or computer in roles) Ellipses are use cases (behavior or functionality seen by users) What can user do with the system?

E.g., Trader interacts with Trader Contract via a Trade Commodities transaction

<<include>> relationship inserts a chunk of behavior (another use case) <<extend>> adds to a more general use case

Advantages of use cases

What do you think? Systematic and intuitive way to capture functional requirements? Facilitates communication between user and system analyst:

Text descriptions explain functional behavior in users language Diagrams can show relationship between use case behaviors When should we bother with diagrams?

Use cases can drive the whole development process: Analysis understand what user wants with use cases Design and implementation realizes them How can use case help with early design of UI prototype? How can use cases set up test plans? How can use cases help with writing a user manual?

Use cases assignment

Develop a set of use cases and a use case diagram for a simple ATM (simple means you can just consider two kinds of accounts, savings and checking, and two transactions, deposits and withdrawals) Due anytime Sunday, September 7 on Blackboard

Requirements Assignments
By Monday, September 8, email me a tentative project title, customer and level of commitment to the project, and other team members their roles. By Monday, September 15, email me a link to a web site containing the above (perhaps revised), plus: 1. Write a high-level requirements specification 2. Write uses cases describing crucial system behavior 3. Preliminary estimates (person-hours) for project, including rest of analysis design, implementation & testing 4. Assess any risks associated with the project