Non-Functional Requirements Framework: A Mathematical Programming Approach

Non-functional or quality requirements such as, performance, timeliness and security are often crucial for the success of a software system. Several well-known techniques and frameworks have been developed to deal with the functional aspect of requirements engineering. Recent years have seen the...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Affleck, Amy, Krishna, Aneesh, Achuthan, Narasimaha
Format: Journal Article
Published: Oxford University Press 2015
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/37244
_version_ 1848754993198268416
author Affleck, Amy
Krishna, Aneesh
Achuthan, Narasimaha
author_facet Affleck, Amy
Krishna, Aneesh
Achuthan, Narasimaha
author_sort Affleck, Amy
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Non-functional or quality requirements such as, performance, timeliness and security are often crucial for the success of a software system. Several well-known techniques and frameworks have been developed to deal with the functional aspect of requirements engineering. Recent years have seen the emergence of frameworks that incorporate non-functional requirements (NFRs). The NFR Framework is a qualitative method that bridges the gap between the idea of NFRs, and a software design that encompasses these ideas. The framework functions by modelling NFRs and the associated implementation methods, eventually resulting in a fully documented decision regarding the implementation of said methods. This paper presents a formal linear programming optimization model for the NFR Framework with regard to operationalization selection. The optimization model has the capability of handling large, complicated graphs that were unwieldy in the original framework. The inclusion of a sensitivity analysis expands the functionality of the optimization model to provide useful data on even the smallest of problems. These additional data allow the optimization model to assist in conflict resolution with regard to the initial quantitative values. The approach is illustrated using two case studies from the literature and verified through a simulation-based analysis.
first_indexed 2025-11-14T08:49:14Z
format Journal Article
id curtin-20.500.11937-37244
institution Curtin University Malaysia
institution_category Local University
last_indexed 2025-11-14T08:49:14Z
publishDate 2015
publisher Oxford University Press
recordtype eprints
repository_type Digital Repository
spelling curtin-20.500.11937-372442017-09-13T13:38:55Z Non-Functional Requirements Framework: A Mathematical Programming Approach Affleck, Amy Krishna, Aneesh Achuthan, Narasimaha requirements engineering optimization non-functional requirements NFR framework simulation Non-functional or quality requirements such as, performance, timeliness and security are often crucial for the success of a software system. Several well-known techniques and frameworks have been developed to deal with the functional aspect of requirements engineering. Recent years have seen the emergence of frameworks that incorporate non-functional requirements (NFRs). The NFR Framework is a qualitative method that bridges the gap between the idea of NFRs, and a software design that encompasses these ideas. The framework functions by modelling NFRs and the associated implementation methods, eventually resulting in a fully documented decision regarding the implementation of said methods. This paper presents a formal linear programming optimization model for the NFR Framework with regard to operationalization selection. The optimization model has the capability of handling large, complicated graphs that were unwieldy in the original framework. The inclusion of a sensitivity analysis expands the functionality of the optimization model to provide useful data on even the smallest of problems. These additional data allow the optimization model to assist in conflict resolution with regard to the initial quantitative values. The approach is illustrated using two case studies from the literature and verified through a simulation-based analysis. 2015 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/37244 10.1093/comjnl/bxu027 Oxford University Press restricted
spellingShingle requirements engineering
optimization
non-functional requirements
NFR framework
simulation
Affleck, Amy
Krishna, Aneesh
Achuthan, Narasimaha
Non-Functional Requirements Framework: A Mathematical Programming Approach
title Non-Functional Requirements Framework: A Mathematical Programming Approach
title_full Non-Functional Requirements Framework: A Mathematical Programming Approach
title_fullStr Non-Functional Requirements Framework: A Mathematical Programming Approach
title_full_unstemmed Non-Functional Requirements Framework: A Mathematical Programming Approach
title_short Non-Functional Requirements Framework: A Mathematical Programming Approach
title_sort non-functional requirements framework: a mathematical programming approach
topic requirements engineering
optimization
non-functional requirements
NFR framework
simulation
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/37244