Download Writing Clear and Effective Requirements: Overcoming Challenges with Natural Languages and more Slides Software Project Management in PDF only on Docsity! 1 Writing Requirements Lecture # 23 docsity.com 2 Writing Requirements - 1 • Requirements specification should establish an understanding between customers and suppliers about what a system is supposed to do, and provide a basis for validation and verification docsity.com 5 Problems with Natural Languages - 2 • It is not possible to modularize natural language requirements. It may be difficult to find all related requirements – To discover the impact of a change, every requirement have to be examined docsity.com 6 Problems with Requirements - 1 • The requirements are written using complex conditional clauses (if A then B then C…), which are confusing • Terminology is used in a sloppy and inconsistent way docsity.com 7 Problems with Requirements - 2 • The writers of the requirement assume that the reader has a specific knowledge of the domain or the system and they leave essential information out of the requirements document docsity.com 10 Comments on Special-Purpose Languages • These languages cannot completely define requirements • They are not understandable by all stakeholders • Therefore, there is always a need for well-written, natural language statements of requirements docsity.com 11 Essentials for Writing Requirements - 1 • Requirements are read more often than they are written. Investing effort in writing requirements, which are easy to read and understand is almost always cost-effective docsity.com 12 Essentials for Writing Requirements - 2 • Readers of requirements come from diverse backgrounds. If you are requirements writer, you should not assume that readers have the same background and knowledge as you • Recollect our discussion on cultural issues in requirements engineering docsity.com 15 Essentials for Writing Requirements - 5 • Level of detail needed is dependent on – Type of requirements (stakeholder or process requirements) – Customer expectations – Organizational procedures – External standards or regulations docsity.com 16 Essentials for Writing Requirements - 6 • Writing good requirements requires a lot of analytic thought • Specifying rationale of requirement is one way to encourage such thought docsity.com 17 Guidelines for Writing Requirements - 1 • Define standard templates for describing requirements • Use language simply, consistently, and concisely • Use diagrams appropriately docsity.com 20 Using Simple Language - 2 • Use short sentences and paragraphs, using lists and table • Use text highlighting to pick out key parts of the requirements docsity.com 21 Using Appropriate Diagrams • Use diagrams to present broad overviews and show relationships between entities • Avoid complex diagrams docsity.com 22 Guidelines for Writing Requirements - 2 • Supplement natural language with other descriptions of requirements • Specify requirements quantitatively docsity.com 25 Additional Guidelines for Writing Requirements - 1 • State only one requirement per requirement statement • State requirements as active sentences • Always use a noun or a definite pronoun when referring to a thing • Do not use more than one conjunction when writing requirements statements docsity.com 26 Additional Guidelines for Writing Requirements - 2 • Avoid using weak words and phrases. Such words and phrases re generally imprecise and allow the expansion or contraction of requirements beyond their intent docsity.com 27 Examples of Words to be Avoided • About, adequate, and/or, appropriate, as applicable, as appropriate, desirable, efficient, etc., if practical, suitable, timely, typical, when necessary docsity.com
