Historical Analysis: A Method for Evaluating Requirement Capture Methodologies

Abstract Historical analysis is a new method for evaluating requirement capture methodologies. The method consists of three components. First there is the application of a specification analysis technique. This technique is applied to the requirement specification of an existing software product, and is used to predict performance of a product built to that specification. The second component involves surveying actual use of the product. The third component allows a comparison to be made between the predicted and actual product performance. A valid requirements capture methodoloty should successfully anticipate a significant number of the actual performance problems. The method was used to evaluate the user skills and task match (USTM) methodology. Two case studies were undertaken. The results from the case-work confirm the value of USTM, and demonstrate the power of the historical analysis method as an evaluation tool.

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