9.2 Viewpoint Analysis for Deriving Requirements

9.2.1 Viewpoint Analysis and CORE

One definition of a viewpoint:

A viewpoint is a way of organizing the requirements for a software system, based on some perspective, such as an end user's perspective or a manager's perspective:

Figure 9.2: Software techniques – coverage of the development process

Put simply, viewpoints describe the nature and content of the problem as seen from particular points of view (which includes both people and things).

One very practical viewpoint-based method for analyzing system requirements is that of CORE, Controlled Requirements Expression. This is a methodology based upon the Systems Analysis and Design Technique (SADT), with a number of useful additions. The reasons for describing it are threefold:

• It is a requirements analysis tool only (thus avoiding confusion with multi-purpose tool implementations).
• It has been applied extensively to the...