Authors:
Aneesh Krishna
;
Sergiy Vilkomir
and
Aditya Ghose
Affiliation:
School of IT and Computer Science, University of Wollongong, Australia
Keyword(s):
Agent-Oriented Conceptual Modelling, i* framework, Requirements Engineering, Z notation.
Related
Ontology
Subjects/Areas/Topics:
Enterprise Information Systems
;
Information Systems Analysis and Specification
;
Modeling Formalisms, Languages and Notations
;
Requirements Analysis And Management
Abstract:
Agent-oriented conceptual modeling (AoCM) frameworks are gaining wider popularity in software engineering. In this paper, we are using AoCM framework i* and the Z notation together for requirements engineering (RE). Most formal techniques like Z are suitable for and designed to work in the later phases of RE and early design stages of system development. We argue that early requirements analysis is a very crucial phase of software development. Understanding the organisational environment, reasoning and rationale underlying requirements along with the goals and social dependencies of its stakeholders are important to model and build effective computing systems. The i* framework is one such language which addresses early stage RE issues cited above extremely well. It supports the modeling of social dependencies between agents with respect to tasks and goals both functional and
non-functional. We have developed a methodology involving the combined use of i* and the Z notation for
ag
ent-oriented RE. In our approach we suggest to perform one-to-one mapping between i* framework and Z. At the first instance general i* model has been mapped into Z schemas, and then i* diagrams of the Emergency Flood Rescue Management Case Study are mapped into Z. Some steps explaining further information refinement with examples are also provided. Using Z specification schemas, we are in a position to express properties that are not restricted to the current state of the system, but also to its past and future history. The case study described in this paper is taken from one of the most important responsibilities of the emergency services agency, managing flood rescue and evacuation operations. By using this case study, we have tested the effectiveness of our methodology to a real-life application.
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