The domain theory for requirements engineering

Retrieval, validation, and explanation tools are described for cooperative assistance during requirements engineering and are illustrated by a library system case study. Generic models of applications are reused as templates for modeling and critiquing requirements for new applications. The validation tools depend on a matching process which takes facts describing a new application and retrieves the appropriate generic model from the system library. The algorithms of the matcher, which implement a computational theory of analogical structure matching, are described. A theory of domain knowledge is proposed to define the semantics and composition of generic domain models in the context of requirements engineering. A modeling language and a library of models arranged in families of classes are described. The models represent the basic transaction processing or 'use case' for a class of applications. Critical difference rules are given to distinguish between families and hierarchical levels. Related work and future directions of the domain theory are discussed.