Current categorizations of software requirements are highly ambiguous and inconsistent, mainly due to the lack of a clear, common framework for defining software elements and relevant environmental factors. This book overhauls the traditional approach by proposing an innovative systemic method for categorizing and modeling software requirements. It introduces an unprecedented frame of reference, putting an end to divergent interpretations by precisely defining software elements and environmental factors. This framework forms an indispensable basis for all the other components of this approach: a redefinition of requirements, a hybrid categorization that combines several taxonomies and scales, a metadata model used to qualify requirements, and a multi-view model that represents all possible categories of requirements. By adopting this new approach, professionals will be able to improve the clarity, precision and relevance of their specifications, and thus optimize the success of their software projects.

Table of Contents:
Introduction ix Part 1. Literature Review 1 Chapter 1. Case Study 3 1.1. E-commerce 3 1.2. Web application for an e-book distributor 4 Chapter 2. Concept of Requirements 7 2.1. Requirements 7 2.2. Statements of requirements 10 2.3. Goals 10 2.3.1. Nature and definition of goals 10 2.3.2. Benefits of goals 12 2.3.3. Sources of goals 13 Chapter 3. Existing Scales of Requirements 15 3.1. "User-system" scale 15 3.1.1. User requirements 15 3.1.2. System requirements 16 3.2. "System-software scale" 16 3.2.1. System requirements 17 3.2.2. Software requirements 17 3.2.3. Relationships between system requirements and software requirements 18 3.3. "Goal-design" scale 19 3.3.1. Goal-level requirements 19 3.3.2. Domain-level requirements 19 3.3.3. Product-level requirements 19 3.3.4. Design-level requirements 20 3.4. Discussion 20 Chapter 4. Existing Taxonomies of Requirements 21 4.1. "Requirement-domain property-assumption-definition" taxonomy 22 4.1.1. Requirement 22 4.1.2. Domain property 22 4.1.3. Assumption 23 4.1.4. Definition 23 4.2. "Faceted" taxonomy 23 4.3. "Behavioral requirements-non-behavioral requirements" (BNB) taxonomy 26 4.4. "Fundamental categories-secondary categories" (FS) taxonomy 27 4.4.1. Fundamental categories 27 4.4.2. Secondary categories 28 4.5. "Functional requirements-non-functional requirements" (FNF) taxonomy 28 4.5.1. Functional requirements 28 4.5.2. Non-functional requirements 29 4.6. Other taxonomies 40 4.6.1. "Primary requirements-derived requirements" (PD) taxonomy 40 4.6.2. "Business requirements-technical requirements" (BT) taxonomy 41 4.6.3. "Product requirements-process requirements" (P2) taxonomy 41 4.7. Discussion 42 Part 2. SMART: A Systemic Approach to Categorizing and Modeling Requirements 45 Chapter 5. Conceptualization 47 5.1. A new reference framework 47 5.1.1. Dimension 1: requirements subjects 48 5.1.2. Dimension 2: requirements factors 56 5.2. New requirement definition 59 5.3. New scales and taxonomies of requirements 59 5.3.1. "User-analyst" (UA) requirements scale 60 5.3.2. "Business-system-software" requirements scale 62 5.3.3. "Endogenous-exogenous" requirements taxonomy 67 5.3.4. Requirements taxonomy by nature 72 5.4. New hybrid requirements categorization 74 Chapter 6. Operationalization 79 6.1. New requirements metadata model 79 6.2. New requirements model 88 6.2.1. Endogenous requirements 92 6.2.2. Exogenous requirements 99 Chapter 7. Usage 107 7.1. Objectives 107 7.2. Usage scenarios 108 7.2.1. Elicitation activity 109 7.2.2. Specification activity 109 7.2.3. Analysis activity 110 7.2.4. Validation activity 111 7.2.5. Qualification activity 111 Chapter 8. Evaluation 113 8.1. Comparison with Somerville's approach 113 8.2. Comparison with Lauesen's approach 115 8.3. Comparison with Robertson's approach 115 8.4. Comparison with Van Lamsweerde';s approach 116 8.5. Comparison with Glinz's approach 117 8.6. Comparison with Meyer's approach 117 Conclusion 121 Appendix. Cards Relating to the Nomenclature of the Categories of Requirements 123 References 171 Index 175