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A goal-based framework for contextual requirements modeling and analysis

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Abstract

Requirements engineering (RE) research often ignores or presumes a uniform nature of the context in which the system operates. This assumption is no longer valid in emerging computing paradigms, such as ambient, pervasive and ubiquitous computing, where it is essential to monitor and adapt to an inherently varying context. Besides influencing the software, context may influence stakeholders’ goals and their choices to meet them. In this paper, we propose a goal-oriented RE modeling and reasoning framework for systems operating in varying contexts. We introduce contextual goal models to relate goals and contexts; context analysis to refine contexts and identify ways to verify them; reasoning techniques to derive requirements reflecting the context and users priorities at runtime; and finally, design time reasoning techniques to derive requirements for a system to be developed at minimum cost and valid in all considered contexts. We illustrate and evaluate our approach through a case study about a museum-guide mobile information system.

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Notes

  1. http://lama.disi.unitn.it/

  2. In Sect. 6, we discuss our CASE tool to support this task.

  3. The selection of non-core variants to support in the system-to-be is out of the scope of this paper.

  4. http://www.dbai.tuwien.ac.at/research/project/dlv/

  5. http://mathsat4.disi.unitn.it

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Acknowledgments

This work has been partially funded by EU Commission through the COMPAS, NESSOS and ANIKETOS projects. We thank Jaelson Brelaz de Castro, Bashar Nuseibeh, John Mylopoulos, Yijun Yu, Anders Franzen, Alberto Griggio, and Amit K. Chopra for the helpful discussions that enriched the ideas in this paper.

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  1. DISI, University of Trento, Via Sommarive 14, 38123, Povo, Trento, Italy

    Raian Ali, Fabiano Dalpiaz & Paolo Giorgini

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  1. Raian Ali
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  2. Fabiano Dalpiaz
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  3. Paolo Giorgini
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Correspondence to Raian Ali.

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Ali, R., Dalpiaz, F. & Giorgini, P. A goal-based framework for contextual requirements modeling and analysis. Requirements Eng 15, 439–458 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00766-010-0110-z

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