Skip to main content

Separating Concerns in Requirements Analysis: An Example

  • Chapter
Rigorous Development of Complex Fault-Tolerant Systems

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNPSE,volume 4157))

Abstract

Often, a requirements document is structured as a long list of individual ”requirements”, each describing an anticipated function or user interaction. An alternative approach is to identify a collection of subproblems, each representing an aspect of the larger problem, and to describe each subproblem in isolation, deferring their composition to a later stage. This paper illustrates the approach by applying it to the requirements of the positioning functions of a proton therapy installation. It explains how a flaw in the design of the system can be isolated to a single subproblem, which can be formalized and subjected to automatic analysis.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  1. Ainsworth, M., Cruickshank, A.H., Groves, L.J., Wallis, P.J.L.: Formal Specification via Viewpoints. In: Proc. 13th New Zealand Computer Conference. New Zealand Computer Society, Auckland (1993)

    Google Scholar 

  2. The Alloy Language and Analyzer, http://alloy.mit.edu

  3. Beck, K.: Extreme Programming Explained. Addison-Wesley, Reading (1999)

    Google Scholar 

  4. Dijkstra, E.: On the role of scientific thought. EWD 447. In: Dijkstra, E.W. (ed.) Selected Writings on Computing: A Personal Perspective, Neuen, The Netherlands, 30th August 1974, pp. 60–66. Springer, Heidelberg (1982), available at: http://www.cs.utexas.edu/users/EWD/

    Google Scholar 

  5. Finkelstein, A., Kramer, J., Nuseibeh, B., Finkelstein, L., Goedicke, M.: Viewpoints: A Framework for Integrating Multiple Perspectives in System Development. In: International Journal on Software Engineering and Knowledge Engineering, vol. 2(1), pp. 31–57. World Scientific Publishing Company, Singapore (1992)

    Google Scholar 

  6. Harrison, W., Ossher, H.: Subject-Oriented Programming – A Critique of Pure Objects. In: Proc. 1993 Conference on Object- Oriented Programming Systems, Languages and Applications (September 1993)

    Google Scholar 

  7. Jackson, D.: Structuring Z Specifications with Views. ACM Transactions on Software Engineering and Methodology 4(4), 365–389 (1995)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Jackson, D.: Software Abstractions: Logic, Language, and Analysis. MIT Press, Cambridge (2006)

    Google Scholar 

  9. Jackson, M.: Problem Frames: Analyzing and Structuring Software Development Problems. Addison Wesley Professional, Boston (2000)

    Google Scholar 

  10. Jackson, D., Jackson, M.: Problem Decomposition for Reuse. Software Engineering Journal 11(1), 19–30 (1996)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Kiczales, G., Lamping, J., Mendhekar, A., Maeda, C., Lopes, C.V., Loingtier, J.-M., Irwin, J.: Aspect-oriented programming. In: Aksit, M., Matsuoka, S. (eds.) ECOOP 1997. LNCS, vol. 1241, pp. 220–242. Springer, Heidelberg (1997)

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  12. Rae, A., Jackson, D., Ramanan, P., Flanz, J., Leyman, D.: Critical Feature Analysis of a Radiotherapy Machine. In: Reliability Engineering and System Safety. Elsevier Science, Amsterdam (2004)

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2006 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Jackson, D., Jackson, M. (2006). Separating Concerns in Requirements Analysis: An Example. In: Butler, M., Jones, C.B., Romanovsky, A., Troubitsyna, E. (eds) Rigorous Development of Complex Fault-Tolerant Systems. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 4157. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/11916246_11

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/11916246_11

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-540-48265-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-540-48267-3

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics