Requirements Engineering:
System Vision	
CECS 542
Dr.	Birgit	Penzenstadler	 1	
Photo	credit:	Ryan	Holloway,	Unsplash
Context Layer
System Layer
Requirements Layer
Stakeholder Model Objectives
& Goals
Constraints
& Rules
!
!
!
!
!
Data Model
E
A
A
A
E
System Vision
Functional
Hierarchy
Architecture Overview
System
Function Model
Fun 1
Fun 2
Component Model
C C
Data Model
E
A
A
A
E
Behaviour Model
Business Case
Deployment Requirements
System Constraints
Domain Model
Service ModelUsage Model
Quality Requirements
Risk List
Project Scope
Process Requirements
Glossary
Glossary
Glossary
Today‘s	learning	goals	
•  What	is	a	system	vision?	
–  Defini@on,	characteris@cs,		
meaning	and	purpose	
–  Interdependencies	between	system	
vision	and	other	RE	content	
	
•  Overview	of	
–  Types	of	system	visions	
–  System	visions	in	the	context	of	analyis	
(informa@on	sources,	QA)	
	
•  System	vision	in	context	of	AMDiRE	
•  Understanding	of	typical	problems	
2
System	Vision	
•  What	is	a	system	vision?	
(defini@on,	characteris@cs,	purpose)	
•  Interdependencies	between	system	vision	and	
other	RE	content	
•  Methods:	Types	of	system	visions	
•  Analysis:	Informa@on	sources	and	QA	
•  System	Vision	in	AMDiRE	
•  What	are	the	problems/challenges?	
Dr.	Birgit	Penzenstadler	 3	
K	Rayker,	stock.xchng
Mo@va@on:	System	Vision	
Dr.	Birgit	Penzenstadler	 4
Defini@on:	System	vision	
•  Def.:	The	system	vision	is	a	joint	vision	of	the	
system	agreed	upon	by	all	ac@ve	
stakeholders	
•  Characteris@cs	
– Big	picture	
– Abstract	
•  Purpose	
– Agreement	on	what	this	project	is	about	
– Easy	communica@on	with	stakeholders	
Dr.	Birgit	Penzenstadler	 5
Example:	Car	Sharing	System	
Dr.	Birgit	Penzenstadler	 6	
Management(
CRM(
Data(
Base(
Administra2on(
Car(Sharing(Community(
Rental(
Available(
Return(
Car(pool(
Search(
I(want(to(
minimize(my(
environmental(
impact.(
Sustainability?(
Repor2ng(
Billing(/(
Sta2s2cs(
Profit?(
Call(center(
I(want(to(
drive(from(
A(to(B.(
Complaint(
Service(team/(
Fleet(management(
Fill(up(gas,((
clean,((
repair(
Share(
Rent(
Save(costs(
&(energy(
Register((Adver2se(
We(want(to(contribute(
to(sustainable(mobility.(
Answer(
customer(
enquiries.(
High(
availability(
Easy(
maintenance(
Example:	Pub	
Dr.	Birgit	Penzenstadler	 7	
[Monk	&	Howard,	1998]
System	Vision	
•  What	is	a	system	vision?	
(defini@on,	characteris@cs,	purpose)	
•  Interdependencies	between	system	vision	and	
other	RE	content	
•  Methods:	Types	of	system	visions	
•  Analysis:	Informa@on	sources	and	QA	
•  System	Vision	in	AMDiRE	
•  What	are	the	problems/challenges?	
Dr.	Birgit	Penzenstadler	 8	
K	Rayker,	stock.xchng
Context Layer
System Layer
Requirements Layer
Stakeholder Model Objectives
& Goals
Constraints
& Rules
!
!
!
!
!
Data Model
E
A
A
A
E
System Vision
Functional
Hierarchy
Architecture Overview
System
Function Model
Fun 1
Fun 2
Component Model
C C
Data Model
E
A
A
A
E
Behaviour Model
Business Case
Deployment Requirements
System Constraints
Domain Model
Service ModelUsage Model
Quality Requirements
Risk List
Project Scope
Process Requirements
Glossary
Glossary
Glossary
Connec@on	to	
RE	content	items	
•  Input	
– Business	Case	
– Stakeholders	
– Goals	
– Domain	Model	
•  Output	
– Usage	Model	
– Quality	Requirements	
– Risk	List	
	
9
System	Vision	
•  What	is	a	system	vision?	
(defini@on,	characteris@cs,	purpose)	
•  Interdependencies	between	system	vision	and	
other	RE	content	
•  Methods:	Types	of	system	visions	
•  Analysis:	Informa@on	sources	and	QA	
•  System	Vision	in	AMDiRE	
•  What	are	the	problems/challenges?	
Dr.	Birgit	Penzenstadler	 10	
K	Rayker,	stock.xchng
Method	
•  Rich	Picture		
[Monk	&	Howard,	1998]	
•  Used	in	par@cipatory	design	
– Brainstorming	
– Storyboarding	
– Paper-based	prototyping	
Dr.	Birgit	Penzenstadler	 11
Method:	
Rich		
picture	
Dr.	Birgit	Penzenstadler	 12	
drawing the rich picture are included in
this structure to remind themselves that
put on her to reduce th
in her department. Som
department may have a
job may be de-skilled o
laid off. The thought b
cerns in Figure 1 make
brewery, the employees
the customers each hav
perspectives on what th
Finally, tensions betwe
be highlighted. The “cr
serves this purpose. In F
shown to be in tension w
sumably through their co
ited pool of customers.
with crossed swords is a
step to precisely identify
concerns and how they m
Table 1 lists some of th
for an effective rich pict
serve to prevent the rich p
ing overloaded with detai
having a rich picture that
the people who have give
tion (Item 4 in Table 1) is
back to them for review.
elicit new information and
interpretation. The discip
guage of the work contex
Table 1. Elements of an Effective Rich Picture
Element Comment
1. Include structure Include only enough structure to allow
you to record the process and con-
cerns. The latter requires that all the
people who will use or could con-
ceivably be affected by the introduc-
tion of the new system be included.
2. Include process Do not attempt to record all the intri-
cacies of process; a broad brush
approach is usually all that is needed
3. Include concerns Caricature the concern in a thought
bubble (see Figures 1–3 for exam-
ples). A fuller explanation may be
provided in a supplementary docu-
ment
4. Use the language of This will make the rich picture com-
the people depicted in it prehensible to your informants
5. Use any pictorial or textual There is no correct way of drawing a
device that suits your purpose rich picture. There are as many styles
as analysts and the same analyst will
find different styles useful in differ-
ent situations
[Monk	&	Howard,	1998]
Example:	Web	Design	Consultancy	
Dr.	Birgit	Penzenstadler	 13	
[Monk	&	Howard,	1998]	
processes, and concerns significant to them.
SSM’s focus on the stakeholders’ viewpoint
shares much with various participatory design
that identifies the stakeholders and the work
setting. Figures 1–3 are examples of this type
of rich picture. Additionally, a rich picture of
Figure 2 Rich Picture of Web Design Consultancy
FISHY WEB INC.
Profit?
Long term reputation?
Director
AdministrationMarket Research
Web Analyst
HTML Coder
Strategy
Documents
Need more
time
Competitor
Companies
Current
Clients
Resources
Data
Work
Problems
Solutions
Analysts
I don’t have
enough time
to talk to the user
Concepts
If only I had
more powerful
tools
Potential
Clients
Focus?
Bias?
Marketing
Expectations
Standards
Professional Society
of Web Designer
Good job
done dirt cheap
Marketing
Fishy Web Inc.
Project Team
Example/exercise:	What	is	this	system?	
Dr.	Birgit	Penzenstadler	 14	UC	Irvine,	Oza	et	al.	2002
Example/exercise:	What	is	this	system?	
Dr.	Birgit	Penzenstadler	 15	UC	Irvine,	Oza	et	al.	2002
Example:	Cold	Storage	Warehouse	
Dr.	Birgit	Penzenstadler	 16	
[Monk	&	Howard,	1998]	
P
27i n t e r a c t i o n s . . . m a r c h + a p r i l 1 9 9 8
include Monk et al.’s simplified user testing
procedure Cooperative Evaluation [13] and
Nielsen’s simplified usability inspection tech-
nique, Heuristic Evaluation [17]. With these
techniques, prototypes and scenarios are cru-
cial parts of communication between designer
and user. Without these concrete representa-
tions of the design, little communication can
occur. With them, however, both user and
designer can develop common ground by
focusing on actions and tasks. A rich picture
can serve a similar communicative function
much earlier in design when one is thinking
about the general work context and the con-
straints this imposes.
Monk [12] describes how a rich picture can
be used as the first step in a lightweight design
process, to reason about the redesign of the
Figure 3. Rich Picture of a
Cold Storage Warehouse
Good	tutorial	
hhp://systems.open.ac.uk/materials/T552/	
Dr.	Birgit	Penzenstadler	 17
System	Vision	
•  What	is	a	system	vision?	
(defini@on,	characteris@cs,	purpose)	
•  Interdependencies	between	system	vision	and	
other	RE	content	
•  Methods:	Types	of	system	visions	
•  Analysis:	Informa@on	sources	and	QA	
•  System	Vision	in	AMDiRE	
•  What	are	the	problems/challenges?	
Dr.	Birgit	Penzenstadler	 18	
K	Rayker,	stock.xchng
Analysis	
1.  Informa@on	sources	
2.  Quality	assurance	
Dr.	Birgit	Penzenstadler	 19
•  Workshop	with		
stakeholders	
•  Domain	knowledge	
•  Crea@vity	techniques	
–  „W“	ques@ons	
–  Brainstorming	
–  Progressive	abstrac@on	
–  Mindmap	
–  Morphological	box	
–  Osborn	checklist	
Dr.	Birgit	Penzenstadler	 20	
Informa@on		
Sources
Morphological	box	
21
Mindmap	
22
Osborne	Checklist	
23
Quality	assurance	
•  Understandability	
•  Readability	
•  Completeness	
Dr.	Birgit	Penzenstadler	 24
System	Vision	
•  What	is	a	system	vision?	
(defini@on,	characteris@cs,	purpose)	
•  Interdependencies	between	system	vision	and	
other	RE	content	
•  Methods:	Types	of	system	visions	
•  Analysis:	Informa@on	sources	and	QA	
•  System	Vision	in	AMDiRE	
•  What	are	the	problems/challenges?	
Dr.	Birgit	Penzenstadler	 25	
K	Rayker,	stock.xchng
System	Vision	in	AMDiRE	
•  Includes	
– Structure	
– Process	
– Concerns	
•  Elements	
– System	border	
– Others	systems	in	the	context	
– Features	/	usage	
– Rela@on	to	important	stakeholders	
Dr.	Birgit	Penzenstadler	 26	
Context Layer
System Layer
Requirements Layer
Stakeholder Model Objectives
& Goals
Constraints
& Rules
!
!
!
!
!
Data Model
E
A
A
A
E
System Vision
Functional
Hierarchy
Architecture Overview
System
Function Model
Fun 1
Fun 2
Component Model
C C
Data Model
E
A
A
A
E
Behaviour Model
Business Case
Deployment Requirements
System Constraints
Domain Model
Service ModelUsage Model
Quality Requirements
Risk List
Project Scope
Process Requirements
Glossary
Glossary
Glossary
System	Vision	
27	
	
à How	to:		
Take	input	from		
Stakeholder	Model,		
Domain	and	Goals	
to	sketch:	
•  System	scope	
•  Major	features	
•  Business	context	
•  Opera@onal	
context	
•  Stakeholders	
•  Concerns	Car	Sharing	Community	
Search	
Register		
Data	
Base	
WebApp	
Par@cipate	
Car	pool
Management	
CRM	
Administra@on	
Car	Sharing	Community	
Rental	
Available	
Return	
Car	pool	
Search	
I	want	to	
minimize	my	
environmental	
impact.	
Sustainability?	
Repor@ng	
Billing	/	
Sta@s@cs	
Profit?	
Call	center	
I	want	to	
drive	from	
A	to	B.	
Complaint	
Service	team/	
Fleet	management	
Fill	up	gas,		
clean,		
repair	
Share	
Rent	
Save	costs	
&	energy	
Register		
Adver@se	
We	want	to	contribute	
to	sustainable	mobility.	
Answer	
customer	
enquiries.	
High	
availability	
Easy	
maintenance	
Data	
Base	
WebApp	
Par@cipate	
Support	
Opera@onal	context	
Business	context	
System		
scope
Challenges	
•  Scoping:	clear	system	boundary	
•  Reasonably	complete	
•  Self-explanatory	
•  Next	steps:	System	vision	
for	the	OpenMRS	system		
	
Dr.	Birgit	Penzenstadler	 29	
Context Layer
System Layer
Requirements Layer
Stakeholder Model Objectives
& Goals
Constraints
& Rules
!
!
!
!
!
Data Model
E
A
A
A
E
System Vision
Functional
Hierarchy
Architecture Overview
System
Function Model
Fun 1
Fun 2
Component Model
C C
Data Model
E
A
A
A
E
Behaviour Model
Business Case
Deployment Requirements
System Constraints
Domain Model
Service ModelUsage Model
Quality Requirements
Risk List
Project Scope
Process Requirements
Glossary
Glossary
Glossary

Requirements Engineering - System Vision