 Tools that can generate automatic test scripts from requirements will become more prevalent as a way to verify requirements and reduce testing effort. Existing challenge:  Bridging the gap between natural language requirements and automated testing.

1. Crain Knowledge
Requirements Engineering
The status quo and what lies ahead
Edward Crain
31 Mei 2011

2. AGENDA
INTRODUCTION
Definition of Requirement
engineering
HISTORY
The last decennia
summarized
THE STATUS QUO
Where do we stand?
TRENDS IN THE NEAR
FUTURE
Upcoming trends
THOUGHTS TO PONDER
Some ideas to take home

3. INTRODUCTION
REQUIREMENTS “The domain that encompasses all project life cycle
ENGINEERING activities associated with understanding a product’s
necessary capabilities and attributes.”
http://www.processimpact.com/UC/Module_3/data/downloads/glossary.html
Requirements Engineering
Requirements Requirements
Development Management
Elicitation Specification
Analysis Verification

4. History of Requirements
Engineering
The last decennia summarized

5. HISTORY (until ‘70)
No formal
name for
Text, tables and drawings , but no requirements
Requirements specification standards
Engineering
Questionnaires
Literature
Interviews
Observe users
Help files and manuals

6. HISTORY (‘70)
Challenges
Systems are
becoming more
complex
First big projects
(>1000 developers)
Security issues
OS/360 (>10 years development) Life critical
software
Therac 25

7. HISTORY (‘70)
Trends
Rise of single-pass
waterfall

8. HISTORY (‘70)
Trends
Rise of single-pass
waterfall
JAD workshops

9. HISTORY (‘70)
Entity Relationship Diagram
Trends
Rise of single-pass
waterfall
JAD workshops
Data Flow Diagram Structured Analysis
and Design

10. HISTORY (‘80)
Trends
Rise of the PC
Challenges
How to define GUI
requirements?
How to describe
screen navigation?
How to cope with
even more complex
systems

11. HISTORY (‘80)
Paper Prototyping voor elicatie
Dialog maps voor scherm flows

12. HISTORY (‘80)
A use case is a sequence of actions a system performs that
yields an observable result of value to a particular actor
Bank
Customer Withdraw Money
Actor Use Case
Ivar Jacobson

13. HISTORY (‘80)
CMM (1988)
Software product engineering”
with req.development activity
KPA: Requirements management
(version and change control)

14. HISTORY (‘80)
First SRS Templates
Std 830-1984: Guide to Software Requirements Specifications (IEEE, 1984 )

15. HISTORY (‘90)
Trends
Rise of iterative
and incremental
methodologies
Spiral DSDM

16. HISTORY (‘90)
Challenges
Incrementally constructing requirements
Slicing requirements to fit in iterations
Flexible change control
Developing requirements in parallel

17. HISTORY (‘90)
UML (1997)

18. HISTORY (‘90)
Doors CaliberRM RequisitePro
First Advantages:
RM tools - Manage version and changes
- Facilitate impact analyses
- Store requirements attributes
- Track status
- Control access
- Reuse requirements

19. HISTORY (‘00)
Trend Agile methodologies
Challenges How to set-up lightweight requirements?
How to determine readiness requirements?
What will be the job of a business analyst?
Feature driven development
Extreme programming
Scrum

20. HISTORY (‘00)
Agile Example of lightweight requirements.
requirements
Fast Eddy Personas
•Loves to learn new stuff Rusty Rudi User
•Computer geek
•Hates slow performing stories
•>20 years experience with
•applications
legacy application
•Prefers mainframe applications
Testdriven requirements

21. HISTORY (‘00)
Role of Business Analysts? (An example)
Business
?? ??
Stakeholders Business
Analysts
Ready team Done team
Kanban board Scrum board
New In progress Ready4 Ready4 Ready PO ToDo In Done
Review Poker progress
e e
User User User User User User User User
User User User User User User User User
User
story User
story User
story User
story User
story User
story User
story User
story
story story story story story story story story
story story story story story story story story
Business
Analisten

22. HISTORY (‘00)
Business Analyst = Product Owner? (discussions)

23. HISTORY (‘00)
Trend : Outsourcing/Nearshoring/Offshoring
Challenges:
Unambiguous requirements
Contract negotiations based on requirements
Bridging cultural and language differences
Change procedures

24. HISTORY (‘00)
Standards and certification: IIBA vs IREB
nda
International Institute of Business International Requirements Engineering
Analysis: board:
Business Analyst Book of Knowledge IREB Syllabus
International Certification (Certified (Foundation/Advanced/Expert)
Business Analysis Professional) International certification
Linked-In group/Dutch chapter Linked-in group
Well-known representatives Suzanne & Certification in the Netherlands
James Robertson (=Volere)

25. The Status Quo
Where do we stand? w
N

26. THE STATUS QUO (‘11)
WHERE DO WE Results survey on requirements management 2011
STAND?
http://www.jamasoftware.com/media/documents/State_of_Requirements_Management_2011.pdf

27. THE STATUS QUO (‘11)
WHERE DO WE Results survey on requirements management 2011
STAND?
http://www.jamasoftware.com/media/documents/State_of_Requirements_Management_2011.pdf

28. THE STATUS QUO (‘11)
WHERE DO WE Results survey on requirements management 2011
STAND?
http://www.jamasoftware.com/media/documents/State_of_Requirements_Management_2011.pdf

29. THE STATUS QUO (‘11)
WHERE DO WE Results survey on requirements management 2011
STAND?
http://www.jamasoftware.com/media/documents/State_of_Requirements_Management_2011.pdf

30. THE STATUS QUO (‘11)
Large gap between research and industry due
WHERE DO WE to the lack of an accepted theory/terminology
STAND?
Most companies have their own method or
process (=usually a combination of industry
standards and business specific needs)
The industry keeps reinventing itself. New
methodologies are a combination of existing
standards.
Natural language is ambiguous and people
are struggling on how to make requirements
SMART

31. TRENDS IN THE NEAR FUTURE
Upcoming Trends N w

32. TRENDS IN THE NEAR FUTURE
Lean E.g. “Optimize the whole“, “Eliminate waste” en
principles “Built Quality in”
Existing challenge:
How to set-up requirements to simplify or skip next step in process
How to enhance Time2market/value?

33. TRENDS IN THE NEAR FUTURE
SBVR One language standard for the business
Better communication
Faster and easier software changes
(return to declarative requirements)

34. TRENDS IN THE NEAR FUTURE
Tools like Generate automatic test scripts using a predefined
Cucumber syntax

35. TRENDS IN THE NEAR FUTURE
PA Smart Use a predefined syntax for all requirements to
Requirements shorten the software development lifecycle
(You can even create software based on requirements using
(Logica) this predefined syntax with the PA Generator)
Business Requirements/Specifications
For each EMPLOYEE in EMPLOYEES applies:
There exists a SHEET in TIMESHEETS with:
year, month = input from EMPLOYEE
approved = input from CUSTOMER
based on [SHEET.*, LINES.*]
and
There exists several LINES in TIMESHEET_LINES with:
day, task, hours = input from EMPLOYEE
PART_OF = T
Invoicing Temporary Employees
EMPLOYEE CUSTOMER
(dis)Approved hours
Year: 2010
Of employee: edwin.hendriks@logica.com
Month: March
Hours booked
Invoice
Year:
Invoice
2010
Month: March
Day Task Location Hours
1 PM for RVS Amsterdam 8
2 Booking hours
Research Arnhem 8
Day
1
Task
Approving
PM for RVS
Location
Amsterdam
Hours
8
… … … … 2 Research Arnhem 8
31 PM for RVS Amsterdam 4 … … … …
31 Dutch Test Con Utrecht 4 31 PM for RVS Amsterdam 4
31 Dutch Test Con Utrecht 4
Cancel Done
Approved?: 
Cancel Done
A complete working system

36. THOUGHTS TO PONDER
Some As a profession we are not quite there yet, but
Ideas to certification will become increasingly important
Take The world around us keeps changing
Home The need for requirements engineering will not
change, but how it is done is still evolving

38. Appendix: Lean Thinking
I’m moving bricks
I’m helping
We help defend
building a wall
What are you
the prosperity
doing?
of our country!
Within Software development people still fail
Lean to see the big picture:
Thinking “I’m building this module.”
“I’m writing Use Case 01”
“I’m doing a load test”
Etc.