Software Engineering Methodology

Lecture #3
Software Requirements
https://www.scribd.com/document/386749062/Software-
Requirements

Dr. Aprna Tripathi

 Content
• Software Requirement
• Functional Requirement
• Non-functional Requirements
• Domain Requirements
• User Requirement
• System Requirement
• Software Requirement Document

MCS1002:Software Engineering Methodology- Dr. aprna Tripathi

 Objectives
• To understand the concept of user & system
requirement
• Understand the differences between functional
and non-functional requirements
• To be able to prepare the SRS

MCS1002:Software Engineering Methodology- Dr. aprna Tripathi

 Software Requirement
• Descriptions of the services and constraints.
• In some cases, Requirement is seen as an
abstract statement.
• Some times it may be detailed, mathematically
formal definition of a system.

MCS1002:Software Engineering Methodology- Dr. aprna Tripathi

 Software Requirement
• “If a company wishes to let a contract for a large software
development project, it must define its needs in a sufficiently
abstract way that a solution is not pre-defined.
• The requirements must be written so that several contractors can bid
for the contract, offering, perhaps, different ways of meeting the
client organization's needs.
• Once a contract has been awarded, the contractor must write a
system definition for the client in more detail so that the client
understands and can validate what the software will do. Both of
these documents may be called the requirements document for the
system.”

MCS1002:Software Engineering Methodology- Dr. aprna Tripathi

 Requirements Engineering
• The process of finding out, analysis,
documentation and checking theses services
and constraints.
• The requirements themselves are the
descriptions of the system services and
constraints that are generated during the
requirements engineering process

MCS1002:Software Engineering Methodology- Dr. aprna Tripathi

 Types of requirement
• User requirements

• System requirements

• Software specification

MCS1002:Software Engineering Methodology- Dr. aprna Tripathi

 Types of requirement
• User requirements
– Statements in natural language plus diagrams of the
services the system provides and its operational constraints.
– Written for customers
• System requirements
– A structured document setting out detailed descriptions of
the system services.
– Written as a contract between client and contractor
• Software specification
– A detailed software description which can serve as a basis
for a design or implementation.
– Written for developers

MCS1002:Software Engineering Methodology- Dr. aprna Tripathi

Requirements Definition and
Specifications

MCS1002:Software Engineering Methodology- Dr. aprna Tripathi

Requirements readers

MCS1002:Software Engineering Methodology- Dr. aprna Tripathi

 Functional and non-functional
requirements
• Functional requirements

• Non-functional requirements

• Domain requirements

MCS1002:Software Engineering Methodology- Dr. aprna Tripathi

 Functional and non-functional
requirements
• Functional requirements
– Statements of services the system should provide,
– How the system should react to particular inputs
and
– How the system should behave in particular
situations.
• Non-functional requirements

• Domain requirements

MCS1002:Software Engineering Methodology- Dr. aprna Tripathi

 Functional and non-functional
requirements
• Functional requirements
– Statements of services the system should provide,
– How the system should react to particular inputs and
– How the system should behave in particular situations.
• Non-functional requirements
– constraints on the services or functions offered by the
system such as timing constraints, constraints on the
development process, standards, etc.
• Domain requirements

MCS1002:Software Engineering Methodology- Dr. aprna Tripathi

 Functional and non-functional
requirements
• Functional requirements
– Statements of services the system should provide,
– How the system should react to particular inputs and
– How the system should behave in particular situations.
• Non-functional requirements
– constraints on the services or functions offered by the
system such as timing constraints, constraints on the
development process, standards, etc.
• Domain requirements
– Requirements that come from the application domain
of the system and that reflect characteristics of that
domain
MCS1002:Software Engineering Methodology- Dr. aprna Tripathi
 Functional Requirements
• Describe functionality or system services
• Depend on the type of software, expected users
and the type of system where the software is
used
• Functional user requirements may be high-
level statements of what the system should do
but functional system requirements should
describe the system services in detail

MCS1002:Software Engineering Methodology- Dr. aprna Tripathi

 Examples of functional requirements
• The user shall be able to search either all of the
initial set of databases or select a subset from it.
• The system shall provide appropriate viewers for
the user to read documents in the document store.
• Every order shall be allocated a unique identifier
(ORDER_ID) which the user shall be able to copy
to the account’s permanent storage area.

MCS1002:Software Engineering Methodology- Dr. aprna Tripathi

 Requirements imprecision
• Problems arise when requirements are not
precisely stated
• Ambiguous requirements may be interpreted in
different ways by developers and users
• Consider the term ‘appropriate viewers’
– User intention - special purpose viewer for each
different document type
– Developer interpretation - Provide a text viewer
that shows the contents of the document

MCS1002:Software Engineering Methodology- Dr. aprna Tripathi

 Requirements completeness and
consistency
• In principle requirements should be both complete
and consistent
• Complete
– They should include descriptions of all facilities
required
• Consistent
– There should be no conflicts or contradictions in the
descriptions of the system facilities
• In practice, it is impossible to produce a complete
and consistent requirements document
MCS1002:Software Engineering Methodology- Dr. aprna Tripathi
 Non-functional requirements
• Define system properties and constraints e.g.
reliability, response time and storage
requirements. Constraints are I/O device
capability, system representations, etc.
• Process requirements may also be specified
mandating a particular CASE system,
programming language or development method
• Non-functional requirements may be more critical
than functional requirements. If these are not met,
the system is useless
MCS1002:Software Engineering Methodology- Dr. aprna Tripathi
 Non-functional classifications
• Product requirements
– Requirements which specify delivered product must behave
in a particular way e.g. execution speed, reliability, etc.
• Organizational requirements
– Requirements which are a consequence of organizational
policies and procedures e.g. process standards used,
implementation requirements, etc.
• External requirements
– Requirements which arise from factors which are external
to the system and its development process e.g.
interoperability requirements, legislative requirements, etc.

MCS1002:Software Engineering Methodology- Dr. aprna Tripathi

Non-functional requirement types

MCS1002:Software Engineering Methodology- Dr. aprna Tripathi

Non-functional requirements examples
• Ada Programming Support environment(APSE)
– It shall be possible for all necessary communication
between the APSE and the user to be expressed in the
standard Ada character set
– The system development process and deliverable
documents shall conform to the process and
deliverables defined in XYZCo-SP-STAN-95
– The system shall not disclose any personal information
about customers apart from their name and reference
number to the operators of the system

MCS1002:Software Engineering Methodology- Dr. aprna Tripathi

Non-functional requirements examples
• Product requirement
– It shall be possible for all necessary communication
between the APSE and the user to be expressed in the
standard Ada character set
• Rest two
– The system development process and deliverable
documents shall conform to the process and
deliverables defined in XYZCo-SP-STAN-95
– The system shall not disclose any personal information
about customers apart from their name and reference
number to the operators of the system
MCS1002:Software Engineering Methodology- Dr. aprna Tripathi
Non-functional requirements examples
• Product requirement
– It shall be possible for all necessary communication
between the APSE and the user to be expressed in the
standard Ada character set
• Organizational requirement
– The system development process and deliverable
documents shall conform to the process and deliverables
defined in XYZCo-SP-STAN-95
• Rest one
– The system shall not disclose any personal information
about customers apart from their name and reference
number to the operators of the system

MCS1002:Software Engineering Methodology- Dr. aprna Tripathi

Non-functional requirements examples
• Product requirement
– It shall be possible for all necessary communication
between the APSE and the user to be expressed in the
standard Ada character set
• Organizational requirement
– The system development process and deliverable
documents shall conform to the process and deliverables
defined in XYZCo-SP-STAN-95
• External requirement
– The system shall not disclose any personal information
about customers apart from their name and reference
number to the operators of the system

MCS1002:Software Engineering Methodology- Dr. aprna Tripathi

 Example-LMS
1. The user shall be able to search either all of the initial set of
databases or select a subset from it.
2. The system development process and deliverable documents shall
conform to the process and deliverables defined in XYZCo-SP-
STAN-95.
3. The system shall provide appropriate viewers for the user to read
documents in the document store.
4. The user interface for LIBSYS shall be implemented as simple
HTML without frames or Java applets.
5. The system shall not disclose any personal information about
system users apart from their name and library reference number to
the library staff who use the system.
6. Every order shall be allocated a unique identifier (ORDER_ID)
which the user shall be able to copy to the account’s permanent
storage area.

MCS1002:Software Engineering Methodology- Dr. aprna Tripathi

 LMS-Functional Requirements
• 1 The user shall be able to search either all of the
initial set of databases or select a subset from it.
• 3 The system shall provide appropriate viewers
for the user to read documents in the document
store.
• 6 Every order shall be allocated a unique
identifier (ORDER_ID) which the user shall be
able to copy to the account’s permanent storage
area.
MCS1002:Software Engineering Methodology- Dr. aprna Tripathi
 LMS- Non functional Requirements
• Product requirement
– 4 The user interface for LIBSYS shall be implemented
as simple HTML without frames or Java applets.
• Organizational requirement
– 2 The system development process and deliverable
documents shall conform to the process and
deliverables defined in XYZCo-SP-STAN-95.
• External requirement
– 5 The system shall not disclose any personal
information about system users apart from their name
and library reference number to the library staff who
use the system.
MCS1002:Software Engineering Methodology- Dr. aprna Tripathi
 Example
• Maximum memory used by a system should be no
more than 4 Mbytes.
• Memory constraints are common for embedded
systems where space or weight is limited and the
number of ROM chips storing the system
software must be minimised.
• System should be written using Ada, a
programming language.
• However, it may not be possible to compile an
Ada program with the required functionality into
less that 4 Mbytes.
MCS1002:Software Engineering Methodology- Dr. aprna Tripathi
 Goals and requirements
• Non-functional requirements may be very
difficult to state precisely and imprecise
requirements may be difficult to verify.
• Goal
– A general intention of the user such as ease of use
• Verifiable non-functional requirement
– A statement using some measure that can be
objectively tested
• Goals are helpful to developers as they convey the
intentions of the system users
MCS1002:Software Engineering Methodology- Dr. aprna Tripathi
 Examples
• A system goal
– The system should be easy to use by experienced
controllers and should be organized in such a
way that user errors are minimized.
• A verifiable non-functional requirement
– Experienced controllers shall be able to use all the
system functions after a total of two hours training.
After this training, the average number of errors
made by experienced users shall not exceed two
per day.

MCS1002:Software Engineering Methodology- Dr. aprna Tripathi

Requirements measures

MCS1002:Software Engineering Methodology- Dr. aprna Tripathi

 Domain requirements
• Derived from the application domain and
describe system characteristics and features
that reflect the domain
• May be new functional requirements,
constraints on existing requirements or define
specific computations
• If domain requirements are not satisfied, the
system may be unworkable

MCS1002:Software Engineering Methodology- Dr. aprna Tripathi

 Example- Library system domain
requirements
• There shall be a standard user interface to all
databases which shall be based on the Z39.50
standard.
• Because of copyright restrictions, some
documents must be deleted immediately on
arrival. Depending on the user’s requirements,
these documents will either be printed locally
on the system server for manually forwarding
to the user or routed to a network printer.

MCS1002:Software Engineering Methodology- Dr. aprna Tripathi

 Example- Train protection system
• The deceleration of the train shall be computed
as:
Dtrain = Dcontrol + Dgradient
where Dgradient is 9.81ms2 * compensated
gradient/alpha and where the values of
9.81ms2 /alpha are known for different types
of train.

MCS1002:Software Engineering Methodology- Dr. aprna Tripathi

 Domain requirements problems
• Understandability
– Requirements are expressed in the language of the
application domain
– This is often not understood by software engineers
developing the system
• Implicitness
– Domain specialists understand the area so well that
they do not think of making the domain
requirements explicit

MCS1002:Software Engineering Methodology- Dr. aprna Tripathi

 User Requirement
• Should describe functional and non-functional
requirements.
• Should be understandable by system users who
don’t have detailed technical knowledge
• Defined using natural language, tables and
diagrams

MCS1002:Software Engineering Methodology- Dr. aprna Tripathi

Problems with natural language

MCS1002:Software Engineering Methodology- Dr. aprna Tripathi

 Problems with natural language
• Lack of clarity
– Precision is difficult without making the document
difficult to read
• Requirements confusion
– Functional and non-functional requirements tend
to be mixed-up
• Requirements amalgamation
– Several different requirements may be expressed
together

MCS1002:Software Engineering Methodology- Dr. aprna Tripathi

 Example- Database requirement
• The database shall support the generation and
control of configuration objects; that is, objects
which are themselves groupings of other
objects in the database.
• The configuration control facilities shall allow
access to the objects in a version group by the
use of an incomplete name.

MCS1002:Software Engineering Methodology- Dr. aprna Tripathi

 Example- Editor grid requirement
Grid facilities To assist in the positioning of
entities on a diagram,
• the user may turn on a grid in either centimetres
or inches, via an option on the control panel.
Initially, the grid is off. The grid may be turned on
and off at any time during an editing session and
can be toggled between inches and centimetres at
any time. A grid option will be provided on the
reduce-to-fit view but the number of grid lines
shown will be reduced to avoid filling the smaller
diagram with grid lines.

MCS1002:Software Engineering Methodology- Dr. aprna Tripathi

 Requirement problems
• Database requirements includes both conceptual and
detailed information
– Describes the concept of configuration control facilities
– Includes the detail that objects may be accessed using an
incomplete name
• Grid requirement mixes three different kinds of
requirement
– Conceptual functional requirement (the need for a grid)
– Non-functional requirement (grid units)
– Non-functional UI requirement (grid switching)

MCS1002:Software Engineering Methodology- Dr. aprna Tripathi

 Structured presentation
• Grid facilities
– The editor shall provide a grid facility where a
matrix of horizontal and vertical lines provide a
background to the editor window.
– This grid shall be a passive grid where the alignment
of entities is the user's responsibility. Rationale: A grid
helps the user to create a tidy diagram with well-
spaced entities. Although an active grid, where entities
'snap-to' grid lines can be useful, the positioning is
imprecise. The user is the best person to decide where
entities should be positioned.

MCS1002:Software Engineering Methodology- Dr. aprna Tripathi

 Detailed user requirement
• Adding nodes to a design
– The editor shall provide a facility for users to add nodes
of a specified type to their design.
– The sequence of actions to add a node should be as follows:
• The user should select the type of node to be added.
• The user should move the cursor to the approximate node position
in the diagram and indicate that the node symbol should be added at
that point.
• The user should then drag the node symbol to its final position.
– Rationale: The user is the best person to decide where to
position a node on the diagram.
– This approach gives the user direct control over node type
selection and positioning.

MCS1002:Software Engineering Methodology- Dr. aprna Tripathi

Guidelines for writing requirements
• Invent a standard format and use it for all
requirements
• Use language in a consistent way.
• Use shall for mandatory requirements, should
for desirable requirements
• Use text highlighting to identify key parts of
the requirement
• Avoid the use of computer jargon
MCS1002:Software Engineering Methodology- Dr. aprna Tripathi
 System requirements
• More detailed specifications of user
requirements
• Serve as a basis for designing the system
• May be used as part of the system contract
• System requirements may be expressed using
system models

MCS1002:Software Engineering Methodology- Dr. aprna Tripathi

 Requirements and design
• In principle, requirements should state what the
system should do and
• The design should describe how it does this
• In practice, requirements and design are
inseparable
– A system architecture may be designed to structure the
requirements
– The system may inter-operate with other systems that
generate design requirements
– The use of a specific design may be a domain
requirement

MCS1002:Software Engineering Methodology- Dr. aprna Tripathi

 Problems with NL specification
• Ambiguity
– The readers and writers of the requirement must
interpret the same words in the same way. NL is
naturally ambiguous so this is very difficult
• Over-flexibility
– The same thing may be said in a number of different
ways in the specification
• Lack of modularization
– NL structures are inadequate to structure system
requirements

MCS1002:Software Engineering Methodology- Dr. aprna Tripathi

 Alternatives to NL specification
• Structured natural language
– depends on defining standard forms or templates
• Design description languages
– Uses a language like a program description language
(PDL)
• Graphical notations
– Supplemented by text annotations Ex. Use-case
• Mathematical specifications
– Notations based on mathematical concepts such as
finite-state machines or sets.
MCS1002:Software Engineering Methodology- Dr. aprna Tripathi
Structured language specifications
• A limited form of natural language may be
used to express requirements
• This removes some of the problems resulting
from ambiguity and flexibility and imposes a
degree of uniformity on a specification
• Often bast supported using a forms-based
approach

MCS1002:Software Engineering Methodology- Dr. aprna Tripathi

 Form-based specifications
• Definition of the function or entity
• Description of inputs and where they come
from
• Description of outputs and where they go to
• Indication of other entities required
• Pre and post conditions (if appropriate)
• The side effects (if any)

MCS1002:Software Engineering Methodology- Dr. aprna Tripathi

 Example

MCS1002:Software Engineering Methodology- Dr. aprna Tripathi

PDL-based requirements definition
• Requirements may be defined operationally using a
language like a programming language but with more
flexibility of expression
• Most appropriate in two situations
– Where an operation is specified as a sequence of actions and the
order is important
– When hardware and software interfaces have to be specified
• Disadvantages are
– The PDL may not be sufficiently expressive to define domain
concepts
– The specification will be taken as a design rather than a
specification

MCS1002:Software Engineering Methodology- Dr. aprna Tripathi

Part of an ATM specification

MCS1002:Software Engineering Methodology- Dr. aprna Tripathi

 PDL disadvantages
• PDL may not be sufficiently expressive to
express the system functionality in an
understandable way
• Notation is only understandable to people with
programming language knowledge
• The requirement may be taken as a design
specification rather than a model to help
understand the system

MCS1002:Software Engineering Methodology- Dr. aprna Tripathi

 Interface specification
• Most systems must operate with other systems
and the operating interfaces must be specified as
part of the requirements
• Three types of interface may have to be defined
– Procedural interfaces
– Data structures that are exchanged
– Data representations
• Formal notations are an effective technique for
interface specification
MCS1002:Software Engineering Methodology- Dr. aprna Tripathi
PDL interface description

MCS1002:Software Engineering Methodology- Dr. aprna Tripathi

 The requirements document
• The requirements document is the official
statement of what is required of the system
developers
• Should include both a definition and a
specification of requirements
• It is NOT a design document. As far as
possible, it should set of WHAT the system
should do rather than HOW it should do it

MCS1002:Software Engineering Methodology- Dr. aprna Tripathi

Users of requirement documents

MCS1002:Software Engineering Methodology- Dr. aprna Tripathi

 Requirements document requirements
• Specify external system behavior
• Specify implementation constraints
• Easy to change
• Serve as reference tool for maintenance
• Record forethought about the life cycle of the
system i.e. predict changes
• Characterize responses to unexpected events

MCS1002:Software Engineering Methodology- Dr. aprna Tripathi

 IEEE requirements standard
• Introduction
• General description
• Specific requirements
• Appendices
• Index
• This is a generic structure that must be
instantiated for specific systems

MCS1002:Software Engineering Methodology- Dr. aprna Tripathi

 Requirements document structure
• Introduction
• Glossary
• User requirements definition
• System architecture
• System requirements specification
• System models
• System evolution
• Appendices
• Index

MCS1002:Software Engineering Methodology- Dr. aprna Tripathi

 Exercise
• Discover ambiguities or omissions in the following statement of
requirements for part of a ticket-issuing system.
– An automated ticket-issuing system sells rail tickets. Users select their
destination and input a credit card and a personal identification number.
– The rail ticket is issued and their credit card account charged.
– When the user presses the start button, a menu display of potential
destinations is activated, along with a message to the user to select a
destination.
– Once a destination has been selected, users are requested to input their
credit card. Its validity is checked and the user is then requested to
input a personal identifier.
– When the credit transaction has been validated, the ticket is issued.

MCS1002:Software Engineering Methodology- Dr. aprna Tripathi

 Key Points
• Requirements set out what the system should do
and define constraints on its operation and
implementation
• Functional requirements set out services the
system should provide
• Non-functional requirements constrain the system
being developed or the development process
• User requirements are high-level statements of
what the system should do
MCS1002:Software Engineering Methodology- Dr. aprna Tripathi
 Key Points
• User requirements should be written in natural
language, tables and diagrams
• System requirements are intended to
communicate the functions that the system should
provide
• System requirements may be written in structured
natural language, a PDL or in a formal language
• A software requirements document is an agreed
statement of the system requirements
MCS1002:Software Engineering Methodology- Dr. aprna Tripathi
 References
• Roger S. Pressman. Software Engineering: A
Practioner's Approach (Sixth Edition,
International Edition). McGraw-Hill, 2005.

• Ian Sommerville. Software

Engineering (Seventh Edition). Addison-
Wesley, 2004.

MCS1002:Software Engineering Methodology- Dr. aprna Tripathi