A Customized Data Model for an Integrated Process of Requirements and Configuration Management

Oliveira, Sérgio Ricardo de Freitas; Rocha, Guilherme Conceição; de Andrade, Donizeti

doi:10.1590/jatm.v14.1278

Sérgio Ricardo de Freitas Oliveira ^**Correspondence author: sergio.r.f.oliveira@ieee.org

Conceptualization

Software

Formal analysis

Investigation

Resources

Data Curation

Writing - Original Draft

Writing - Review & Editing

Visualization

Lanlink Informática – Fortaleza/CE, Brazil.

http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2292-9414

Guilherme Conceição Rocha

Methodology

Validation

Supervision

Departamento de Ciência e Tecnologia Aeroespacial – Instituto Tecnológico de Aeronáutica – Divisão de Engenharia Aeronáutica – São José dos Campos/SP, Brazil.

http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8847-9671

Donizeti de Andrade

Project administration

Departamento de Ciência e Tecnologia Aeroespacial – Instituto Tecnológico de Aeronáutica – Divisão de Engenharia Aeronáutica – São José dos Campos/SP, Brazil.

http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7058-656X

*Correspondence author: sergio.r.f.oliveira@ieee.org

Section editor: Joana Ribeiro

Class	Short Description
Desires and Needs	A class for cataloging stakeholders’ desires and needs
Requirements List	A class for cataloging requirements
Items	A class for cataloging CI and Assets
Examination Verification Validation Events	A class for cataloging assessment events
Part Numbers	A class for cataloging part-numbers
Asset Requirements List	A class for assigning requirements to CIs or Assets

Class	Short Description
Asset Classes	A class for cataloging asset categories
Changes	A class for cataloging changes in model and items
Clauses List	A class for cataloging lists of S/R clauses
Configuration Baselines	A class for cataloging Configuration Baselines
Hazards	A class for cataloging hazards
Hazards List	A class for cataloging lists of hazards
Interfaces	A class for cataloging CI or Asset interfaces
Interface Types	A class for cataloging types of interfaces
Manufacturers	A class for cataloging Assets manufacturers’
Parent-Child 01	A class for “multiparent” D/Ns
Parent-Child 02	A class for “multiparent” requirements
Programs	A class for cataloging Programs (i.e., sets of Projects)
Projects	A class for cataloging Projects
Requirement Levels	A class for cataloging levels of requirements
Requirement Types	A class for cataloging types of requirements
Stages	A class for cataloging project stages
Stakeholders	A class for cataloging Stakeholders
Standards	A class for cataloging Standards/Regulations
Standard Clauses	A class for cataloging S/R clauses
Violations	A class for cataloging requirement violation reasons
VV Actions	A class for cataloging actions of assessment events
VV Methods	A class for cataloging methods of assessment events
VV Status	A class for cataloging Pass/Fail status
Yes No	A class for cataloging standard Yes/No assessment answers

Attribute	Description
GlobalID	This is a unique identifier for the desire/need
SetName	An optional attribute that allows grouping desires/needs into sets
Label	An optional label (e.g., 1.1, 1.2, 1.2.1, etc.)
ParentID	If the desire/need is derived from another, this attribute keeps its “parent id,” i.e., the desire/need from where it is derived
IsAlternativeForGlobalD	If the desire/need is a restatement of another, this attribute keeps the desire/need “id” from which it is a restatement
Type	Type of the desire or need (e.g., Safety, Security, etc.)
DesireOrNeedText	Statement of the desire or need
Rationale	Rationale of the desire/need
CreationTimestamp	The timestamp of the registration of the desire/need
CreatorStakeholder	The stakeholder who registered the desire or need
RequestorStakeholder	The stakeholder who manifested the desire or need
VerifierValidatorStakeholder	The stakeholder who will be in charge of validating the D/N
Frozen	Whether this desire/need is frozen or not
FreezerStakeholder	The stakeholder who has frozen the desire/need
FreezingTimestamp	The timestamp when the D/N is frozen

Attribute	Description
ReqID	This is a unique identifier for the requirement
OriginatingDesireOrNeed	The GlobalID of the originating D/N
OriginatingRequirement	The ReqID of the requirement from which this requirement is derived, if any
ProgramRequirementOf	If it is a program requirement, then this attribute contains the Program Name, Otherwise, stays empty
ProjectRequirementOf	If it is a project requirement, then this attribute contains the Project Name, Otherwise, stays empty
CreationTimestamp	The timestamp of the registration of the requirement
SetName	An optional attribute for grouping requirements in sets
ReqLabel	An optional label (e.g., 1.1, 1.2, 1.2.1, etc.)
IsAlternativeOf	If the requirement is a restatement of another, this attribute keeps the requirement “id” from which it is a restatement
ReqType	Type of the requirement (e.g., Safety, Security, etc.)
ReqText	Statement of the requirement
Rationale	Rationale of the requirement
AssociationTimestamp	The date/hour when the requirement has been associated to the project or program
AssociatorStakeholder	The stakeholder who registered or associated the requirement to the project/program
VerifierValidatorStakeholder	The stakeholder who will be in charge of V&V activities for this requirement
ReqLevel	Stakeholder Requirement or System Requirement
Priority	The priority of that requirement for that project/program
Difficulty	The greater the number the greater the difficulty in implementing the requirement
StageOfAssociation	The stage when that requirement is associated to the project (e.g., “Concept and Technology Development,” “System Assembly, Integration, Test and Launch” etc.)
StageToBeVV	Stage before or at which the requirement must be verified or validated
VVMethod	Verification/Validation method (e.g., “Demonstration,” “Test,” “Simulation”, etc.)
Frozen	Whether this requirement is frozen or not
FreezerStakeholder	The stakeholder who has frozen the requirement
FreezingTimestamp	The timestamp when the requirement is frozen
HazardListName	The associated hazard list name
StdClausesListName	The associated standards clauses list name

Source: Elaborated by the authors. Notes: The “OriginatingDesireOrNeed” attribute points to the frozen D/N from which the requirement has been derived, if any. If the requirement is a “child” requirement—i.e., if it exists because a “parent” requirement has been broken into subrequirements for clarity or convenience—then the attribute “OriginatingRequirement” contains the “ReqID” of the “parent” requirement. If the requirement has more than one “parent”—i.e., more than one originating requirement—, the model has an auxiliary class called “Parent-Child 02,” which relates the requirement with its other parents. More on this follows in the section where Parent-Child auxiliary classes are discussed. The attributes “ProgramRequirementOf” and “ProjectRequirementOf” indicate if the requirement refers to a program—i.e., a group of projects—or to a project that belongs to a program, and, if so, it contains the program name or the project name, as appropriate. The proposed model has two auxiliary classes—“Programs” and “Projects”—from which the names come from. The “SetName” attribute has two functions: to allow for grouping requirements in sets, and to allow for the assignment of many requirements—the entire set—to a Part Number or to a Configuration Item at once. More on that is discussed in the section about the Items class. The “ReqLevel” attribute keeps the level of the requirement, for instance, “Stakeholder Requirement” or “System Requirement.” In the context of this work, a requirement which has not yet been reviewed considering the clause 5.2 from standard ISO/IEC/IEEE 29148:2011 – Requirements fundamentals, is still a Stakeholder Requirement, not yet a System Requirement. The proposed model has a class to keep track of these reviews. The “ReqType” attribute is useful for qualifying a Requirement as being related to issues like “Cost,” “Quality,” “Safety,” “Security,” etc. This allows for keeping track of specific types of requirements. The “Priority,” “Difficulty” and “StageOfAssociation” attributes exist not only for convenience, but also for compliance with the clause 5.2 from standard ISO/IEC/IEEE 29148:2011 – Requirements fundamentals. The “StageOfAssociation” attribute allows values from an auxiliary class called Stages. The prototype application assumes usable values for this attribute inspired by the Chapter 6 of the document SX000i – International Guide for the Use of the S-Series Integrated Logistics Support Specifications (ASD/AIA 2016[ASD/AIA] AeroSpace and Defence Industries Association of Europe, Aerospace Industries Association (2016) SX000i - International Guide for the Use of the S-Series Integrated Logistics Support (ILS) Specifications, Brussels: ASD/AIA. [accessed Dec 9 2017]. http://www.sx000i.org/docs/SX000i_Issue_1.1.pdf
http://www.sx000i.org/docs/SX000i_Issue_... , p. 6.4), but the auxiliary class Stages allows for other stage names. The “VVMethod” attribute exists mostly for compliance with clause 6.2 from standard ISO/IEC/IEEE 29148:2011—The Stakeholder requirements definition process—, although it allows for the inclusion of other methods. The prototype application includes a method called “Examination” not for verification/validation actions, but for requirement reviews (i.e.: the assessment of the quality of the requirement itself). The “HazardListName” attribute allows for the assignment of a list of previously identified hazards which the requirement aims to mitigate. The proposed model has two auxiliary classes called Hazards and Hazards List which allow for keeping identified hazards and groups of hazards, respectively. This attribute has been conceived to work in conjunction with the attribute “ReqType” for requirements of type “Safety.” The “StdClausesListName” attribute allows for the assignment of a list of previously identified standard/regulation clauses on which the requirement has been based, if any. The proposed model has three auxiliary classes called Standards, Standards Clauses and Clauses List, which allow for keeping standards/regulations, the clauses belonging to those standards/regulations, and groups of clauses, respectively. This is useful for further documenting the reason of existence of a requirement, and to map standard/regulation clauses into requirements or vice versa.

Attribute	Description
ID	This is a unique identifier for the Asset or the Configuration Item
Name	This is the name of the item
ConfigurationBaseline	This is the name of the configuration baseline to which the item belongs, if any
SerialNumber	If the item is a real asset—e.g., a built/purchased item—, this attribute may keep the serial number of the asset—or version number, if the asset is a document. Otherwise, it stays empty
Tag	This is an optional attribute for keeping the tag of a built item—e.g., the registration of an aircraft
PartNumber	The part-number of the asset. It must contain a valid part-number previously cataloged in the Part Numbers class
VendorNickname	The nickname of the vendor of the asset, if it is a purchased item. Otherwise, it stays empty
OwnerNickname	The nickname of the owner of the asset, if it is a purchased item. Otherwise, it stays empty
Count	The count—i.e., the number—of this item in its parent item or in the current configuration baseline
ParentID	The “parent” item, if the asset is component of a built/purchased item already cataloged. Otherwise, it stays empty
CreatorStakeholder	The stakeholder who cataloged the item
CreationTimestamp	The timestamp when the item has been cataloged
FQFN	It may contain the fully qualified filename, if the item is an electronic document, or the specification document/drawing, if the item is not an electronic document.
Note	Some description of the item
RequirementsSetName	It may point to the attribute “SetName” of the Requirements List class, in case this item must comply with a given set of already-cataloged requirements

Attribute	Description
ID	This is a unique identifier for the event
ReqID	This attribute points to the requirement unique identifier which has been the object of this event
AssetID	If the action of event is “Verification” or “Validation,” then this attribute points to the item unique identifier which is the object of the verification or validation event. Otherwise, if the event action is “Examination,” this attribute stays empty because what has been assessed is the quality of the requirement itself, not the compliance of an item to a requirement
EventAction	The action that has been performed in the event. For instance: “Examination,” “Verification,” “Validation”
EventTimestamp	The timestamp when the event took place
EventMethod	The method used to perform the event action. For instance: “Analysis,” “Demonstration,” “Inspection” etc
EventStatus	The resulting status of the action. For instance: “Pass,” “Fail”
MainViolation	If the requirement has failed the event, this attribute keeps the primary reason of violation. For instance, “Non-compliant,” “Ambiguous,” “Non-complete,” “Non-consistent,” etc.
ExecutorStakeholder	The stakeholder who has performed the event action
EventDescr	A text attribute for describing event details, if desired

Attribute	Description
OurPartNumber	This is a unique identifier of the part-number
OurDescription	This attribute may contain a description of the part-number
ManufacturerNickname	This attribute may contain the nickname of the manufacturer of the item, if it is a third-party item. Otherwise, it stays empty
MafacturerPartNumber	This is a unique identifier of the part-number, in case it is a third-party item. Otherwise, it stays empty
ManufacturerDescription	This attribute may contain a description of the manufacturer, in case it is a third-party item. Otherwise, it stays empty
Class	This attribute contains the class to which the part-number belongs. For instance: “1510 – Aircraft – fixed wing,” “1520 – Aircraft – rotary wing,” “1540 – Gliders,” “1550 – Drones,” etc. The informed class must be previously cataloged by the Class auxiliary class
IsAlternativeFor	If this part-number is an alternative for another part-number already cataloged, this attribute points to its alternative unique identifier, i.e., its “OurPartNumber” attribute
RequirementsSetName	It may point to the attribute “SetName” of the Requirements List class, in case this part-number must comply with a given set of already-cataloged requirements

Attribute	Description
ID	This is a unique identifier of the assignment
ListName	This is the name of the list of assignments
AssetID	If the requirement is being assigned to an item, this attribute contains the unique identifier of the item, previously cataloged through the Items class. Otherwise, it stays empty
PartNumberID	If the requirement is being assigned to a part-number, this attribute contains the unique identifier of the part-number, previously cataloged through the Part Numbers class. Otherwise, it stays empty
ReqID	This is the unique identifier of the requirement being assigned to an item or to a part-number

[1] *Correspondence author: sergio.r.f.oliveira@ieee.org

Brasil

Brasil

A Customized Data Model for an Integrated Process of Requirements and Configuration Management

ABSTRACT