Reasoning about inconsistency in RE: Separating the wheat from the chaff

Anna Zamansky, Irit Hadar, Daniel M. Berry

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

Abstract

Inconsistency is a major challenge in requirements engineering. Traditionally, software requirements specifications (SRSs) are expected to be consistent, with the underlying assumption that this consistency is always achievable. However, with the growing complexity of software systems it has become clear that this assumption is not always realistic. This has led to new paradigms for inconsistency management, acknowledging that it is not only inevitable, but also even desirable at times, to tolerate inconsistency, even temporarily. However, for these paradigms to be widely accepted in industry, practicing software engineers must thoroughly understand the nature of inconsistency in SRSs and the strategies for its handling. This paper proposes a research agenda for preparing practicing software engineers to accept and successfully implement inconsistency management paradigms. As a first step in this direction, the paper describes an ongoing study in which we design an intervention into the perceptions of inconsistency for practicing software engineers. The intervention builds on teaching to them the Zave-Jackson requirements validation formula as an aid for analyzing the types of inconsistency they face, and conducting an empirical study of the effect of this intervention on their inconsistency management.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationENASE 2016 - Proceedings of the 11th International Conference on Evaluation of Novel Software Approaches to Software Engineering
EditorsLeszek Maciaszek, Leszek Maciaszek, Joaquim Filipe
PublisherSciTePress
Pages377-382
Number of pages6
ISBN (Electronic)9789897581892
DOIs
StatePublished - 2016
Event11th International Conference on Evaluation of Novel Software Approaches to Software Engineering, ENASE 2016 - Rome, Italy
Duration: 27 Apr 201628 Apr 2016

Publication series

NameENASE 2016 - Proceedings of the 11th International Conference on Evaluation of Novel Software Approaches to Software Engineering

Conference

Conference11th International Conference on Evaluation of Novel Software Approaches to Software Engineering, ENASE 2016
Country/TerritoryItaly
CityRome
Period27/04/1628/04/16

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © 2016 by SCITEPRESS - Science and Technology Publications, Lda. All rights reserved.

Keywords

  • Human aspects of software development
  • Inconsistency management
  • Requirements engineering
  • Requirements validation formula

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Software

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