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Relating software requirements and design

Author:

Lawrence PetersAuthors Info & Claims

ACM SIGMETRICS Performance Evaluation Review, Volume 7, Issue 3-4

Pages 67 - 71

https://doi.org/10.1145/1007775.811102

Published: 01 January 1978 Publication History

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Abstract

Software development is a process which has evolved into a number of phases. Although the names of the phases and some of their characteristics differ from contractor to contractor and customer to customer, the functional similarities among sets of phases cannot be ignored. The basic software development scenario depicted by these phases starts with problem identification and definition, requirements specification, design, code, test, and installation and maintenance. Although some “smearing&rdquo of one phase activity into other(s) may occur, this represents the basic flow. However, it is just that smearing which occurs between requirements and design that we wish to explore here.

Identifying or defining problems and solving problems are viewed by many to be separate, distinguishable activities. They are complementary in that one identifies what must be done (requirements) while the other depicts how it will be done (design). But software designers complain bitterly that requirements are poorly defined while customers and analysts often complain that the design is not responsive to the problem(s) as they perceive it. Somehow software designers end up discovering previously unknown requirements and end up solving a problem which is foreign to the customer. Is there a workable mechanism to reduce this difficulty?

References

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Rittel, H.W.J. and Webber, M. M., "Dilemmas in a General Theory of Planning," Policy Sciences, 4, 1973, pp. 155-169.

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Hori, S., "CAM-I Long Range Planning Final Report for 1972," IIT Research Institute, December, 1972.

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Peters, L. J. and Tripp, L. L., "Design Representation Schemes", Proceedings of the MRI Symposium on Software Engineering, 1977.

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Softech, Inc., "An Introduction to SADT", Softech document #9022-78, February, 1976.

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Peters, L. J., Smith, G. L., Leck, V. G., and Lamb, S. A., "SAMM: A Modeling Tool for Requirements and Design Specification," Proceedings of COMPSAC, 1978.

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National Bureau of Standards Workshop on Software Requirements Standards, Gaithersburg, Maryland, March, 1978.

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Cited By

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Carey TMason R(2016)Information System Prototyping: Techniques, Tools, And MethodologiesINFOR: Information Systems and Operational Research10.1080/03155986.1983.1173189721:3(177-191)Online publication date: 25-May-2016
https://doi.org/10.1080/03155986.1983.11731897
Brice LConnell J(1983)A methodology for minimizing maintenance costsProceedings of the May 16-19, 1983, national computer conference10.1145/1500676.1500692(113-121)Online publication date: 16-May-1983
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/1500676.1500692
Klausner AKonchan TBranstad MZelkowitz MSquires S(1982)Rapid prototyping and requirements specification using PDSProceedings of the workshop on Rapid prototyping10.1145/1006259.1006277(96-105)Online publication date: 19-Apr-1982
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/1006259.1006277
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Index Terms

Relating software requirements and design
1. Social and professional topics
  1. Professional topics
    1. Management of computing and information systems
      1. Software management
2. Software and its engineering
  1. Software creation and management
    1. Designing software
      1. Requirements analysis
      2. Software implementation planning
        Software design techniques
    2. Software development process management

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Information

Published In

cover image ACM SIGMETRICS Performance Evaluation Review

ACM SIGMETRICS Performance Evaluation Review Volume 7, Issue 3-4

November 1978

182 pages

ISSN:0163-5999

DOI:10.1145/1007775

Issue’s Table of Contents

Proceedings of the software quality assurance workshop on Functional and performance issues
January 1978
187 pages
ISBN:9781450373944
DOI:10.1145/800283
Chairmen:
A. C. (Toni) Shetler,
Clint Woodworth,
Editors:
Susan Jackson,
Jo Ann Lockett

Publisher

Association for Computing Machinery

New York, NY, United States

Publication History

Published: 01 January 1978

Published in SIGMETRICS Volume 7, Issue 3-4

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Cited By

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Carey TMason R(2016)Information System Prototyping: Techniques, Tools, And MethodologiesINFOR: Information Systems and Operational Research10.1080/03155986.1983.1173189721:3(177-191)Online publication date: 25-May-2016
https://doi.org/10.1080/03155986.1983.11731897
Brice LConnell J(1983)A methodology for minimizing maintenance costsProceedings of the May 16-19, 1983, national computer conference10.1145/1500676.1500692(113-121)Online publication date: 16-May-1983
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/1500676.1500692
Klausner AKonchan TBranstad MZelkowitz MSquires S(1982)Rapid prototyping and requirements specification using PDSProceedings of the workshop on Rapid prototyping10.1145/1006259.1006277(96-105)Online publication date: 19-Apr-1982
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/1006259.1006277
Klausner AKonchan T(1982)Rapid prototyping and requirements specification using PDSACM SIGSOFT Software Engineering Notes10.1145/1006258.10062777:5(96-105)Online publication date: 19-Apr-1982
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/1006258.1006277
Rosengard P(1979)Workshop ReportComputer10.1109/MC.1979.165862312:2(84-85)Online publication date: 1-Feb-1979
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1109/MC.1979.1658623
Lamb SLeck VPeters LSmith G(1978)SAMM: A modeling tool for requirements and design specificationThe IEEE Computer Society's Second International Computer Software and Applications Conference, 1978. COMPSAC '78.10.1109/CMPSAC.1978.810306(48-53)Online publication date: 1978
https://doi.org/10.1109/CMPSAC.1978.810306

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