André Luiz de Castro Leal

Enhancing Provenance Representation with Knowledge Based on NFR Conceptual Modeling: A Softgoal Catalog Approach

This work explores the organization of the provenance as a catalog of non-functional requirement NFR. It considers provenance as a quality factor that should be incorporated since the early stages of software development as softgoals. The aim of this research is to introduce a systematic approach to design a provenance catalog using consolidated software engineering techniques. The study is an effort to depict provenance as patterns supported by Softgoal Interdependency Graphs SIG and Goal-Question-Operationalization method GQO, a reusable framework that makes explicit characterization, decomposition, relationships and operationalization of elements that can be satisfied during the software design.

Cataloguing provenance-awareness with patterns

This paper explores the organization of provenance as a catalogue of non-functional requirement. The aim of this paper is to introduce a systematic approach to design a provenance catalogue for reuse using consolidated software engineering techniques. Provenance captures a derivation history of data products and is essential to the long-term preservation, to reuse, and to determine data quality. We propose the provenance catalogue that took into account NFR patterns and provenance taxonomies and specifications to define its softgoals. This work depicts a novel approach on provenance describing it as a Softgoal Interdependency Graph, a reusable framework that makes explicit characterization, decomposition, relationships and operationalization of elements that can be satisfied with the software. We exemplify the approach in a real usage scenario based on scientific software development.

Ontology based software development good practices selection for adoption in micro-enterprises

This paper describes an applied research project developed at Departamento de Informática - Universidade Federal de Viçosa - Brazil, focused on the adoption of software development best practices in micro and small enterprises (MSE) of software, that usually do not have enough professionals, time and budget to target any CMMI levels. The question we tried to answer positively is: how can those companies reach international quality levels in small steps, in order to eventually, lead them to a CMMI levels? Our tested solution consists of an approach that allows the selection of best practices well suited to this kind of enterprise. The approach includes an ontology of software development best practices which are selected based on the enterprises technical profile. The project is in progress, and we present here first good results.

Método Sistêmico com Suporte em GORE para Análise de Conformidade de Requisitos não Funcionais Implementados em Software

A analise de requisitos nao funcionais (RNF) e um desafio e vem sendo explorado na literatura cientifica ha muito tempo. Tal iniciativa deve-se ao fato da existencia do problema de se verificar o uso das operacionalizacoes desse tipo de requisito no software construido. Nesse trabalho apresentamos um metodo, com tecnicas e ferramentas de apoio, que verificam se um software esta em conformidade com padroes de RNF estabelecidos em catalogo como alternativa para o problema de verificacao de RNF. Verificacao e uma tecnica de analise que prescinde da execucao do software, isto e, da demonstracao de seu comportamento. O termo verificacao e usado em contraponto ao termo validacao. O espectro da verificacao vai desde provas de programas contra especificacoes em um sentido mais formal, ate a inspecao visual de programas num sentido menos formal . A estrategia adotada utiliza agentes autonomos para verificacao de conformidade de software em relacao a operacionalizacoes de RNF, para isso utiliza uma base de conhecimentos de padroes persistidos em um catalogo. Os resultados, parciais, sao indicativos de que a proposta de solucao e aplicavel. A avaliacao da validade da-se por demonstracao de que um metodo parcialmente automatizado que e eficaz na identificacao de conformidades. Um diferencial na proposta e que, de maneira geral, os trabalhos com foco em verificacao sao fortemente voltados para a visao funcional, enquanto a solucao aqui apresentada e inovadora na ligacao dos RNF a sua efetiva implantacao. Como prova de conceito aplicou-se e customizou-se uma tecnica de padroes de RNFs baseados em orientacao a objetivos em estudos de caso de exemplos do cotidiano pratico de software. Como tambem a construcao de um framework de agentes, que operam sob notacoes XML, para identificar conformidades de software em relacao a um catalogo de RNF.

Aplicação de Modelos Intencionais e Sistemas Multiagentes para Estabelecer Políticas de Monitoração de Transparência de Software

O artigo apresenta uma proposta de monitoracao de caracteristicas de transparencia de software a partir de sistemas multiagentes. E um primeiro esforco para o entendimento de politicas e modelos intencionais aplicados a agentes autonomos monitores.

Uncovering product line variability from early requirement documents

Mass production of customer-specific software application through software product lines has been gaining great attention in the past years. A software product line supports fast production of customized software applications by the composition of variable requirements, namely variability. Practitioners and researchers suggest that the efficient construction of software product lines depends on the ability of domain engineers to early identify potential variability. Controversially, uncovering product line variability from elicited requirements remains one of the main challenges in domain engineering. The current practice is an ad-hoc, tacit and consequently error-prone identification of variable requirements by domain experts while reviewing different versions of specification documents for similar products. Therefore, variability uncovering could represent an adoption barrier for many companies that should otherwise benefit. To cope with this challenge on product line requirement engineering, we propose in this paper a novel technique for uncovering variability from early requirement documents, specially, from existing Language Extended Lexicons (LEL). The technique suggests the analysis of LEL following a set of heuristics, which therefore, supports the precise grouping, identification and relation of potential variable requirements. In this paper we also illustrate the proposed technique through examples for the meeting scheduler domain.