Document Type

Article

Publication Date

5-2015

Keywords

Requirements engineering, context elicitation process, context sensitive systems

Abstract

Requirements engineering is concerned with the identification of services (functional requirements) and restrictions (non-functional requirements) that a system must meet to satisfy the needs of its users. Requirements, in turn, are increasingly influenced by the context in which the systems are used. In the search for systems that are adaptable to the needs of users and to changes in the operating environment, context-sensitive systems arise. There is a need for a process to systematically elicit contexts to such systems. Given this scenario, we propose a process to elicit requirements and contextual information to be used during the requirements elicitation phase. The process is based on the Storytelling Group technique and also includes mind maps, the 5W1H dimensions (who, what, when, where, why and how) and the conditional dimension that are used to structure and organize the information collected; heuristics were defined to guide the identification of contexts from the information captured in the mind map structured with 5W1H + conditional. Moreover, the contextual information is analyzed and modeled using a specific framework for contexts. To illustrate the use of the process, a Smart Home system was used. The process was also applied in the context of an information technology company for evaluation and posterior refinement. Then, the effectiveness and easiness of use of the process were evaluated in an empirical study in an academic environment. The results obtained indicate that the process is useful and easy to use, bringing benefits to the development of context sensitive systems.

Comments

This paper is in Portuguese (Um Processo Criativo de Elicitação de Contextos para Sistemas Sensíveis ao Contexto)

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