Iterative and Scenario-based Requirements Specification in a System of Systems Context

TL;DR

This paper introduces an iterative, scenario-based requirements specification method for Systems of Systems, enabling continuous modeling and testing of requirements across different levels to detect contradictions early.

Contribution

It extends the scenario-modeling language SMLK for formal, continuous requirements modeling at SoS and CS levels, integrating agile techniques for iterative development.

Findings

Applicable to e-mobility case study

Supports early contradiction detection

Enhances requirements communication and synchronization

Abstract

[Context&Motivation]Due to the managerial ,operational and evolutionary independence of constituent systems (CSs) in a System of Systems (SoS) context, top-down and linear requirements engineering (RE) approaches are insufficient. RE techniques for SoS must support iterating, changing, synchronizing, and communicating requirements across different abstraction and hierarchy levels as well as scopes of responsibility. [Question/Problem] We address the challenge of SoS requirements specification, where requirements can describe the SoS behavior, but also the behavior of CSs that are developed independently. [Principal Ideas] To support the requirements specification in an SoS environment, we propose a scenario-based and iterative specification technique. This allows requirements engineers to continuously model and jointly execute and test the system behavior for the SoS and the CS in order to detect contradictions in the requirement specifications at an early stage. [Contribution] In this paper, we describe an extension for the scenario-modeling language for Kotlin (SMLK) to continuously and formally model requirements on SoS and CS level. To support the iterative requirements specification and modeling we combine SMLK with agile development techniques. We demonstrate the applicability of our approach with the help of an example from the field of e-mobility.