A Set of Heuristics to Support Early Identification of Conflicting Requirements. Issue 1 (October 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Salado, Alejandro; Nilchiani, Roshanak
• Is Part Of: INCOSE International Symposium. Volume 25:Issue 1(2015)
• Page Start: 266
• Page End: 279
• Publication Date: 2015-10
• Subjects: Systems engineering -- Congresses; Systems engineering -- Periodicals; 620.0011
• DOI: 10.1002/j.2334-5837.2015.00062.x
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2334-5837

Abstract

Abstract: Conventional approaches to system design use requirements as boundary conditions against which the design activity occurs. Decisions at a given level of the architecture decomposition can result in the flowing down of conflicting requirements, which are easy to fulfill in isolation but extremely difficult when dealt with simultaneously. Designing against such sets of requirements considerably limits system affordability. Identification of such conflicts is usually performed in industry by subject matter experts. Such evaluations are primarily driven by experience. As a result, effectiveness in identifying conflicting requirements is strongly dependent on the person making the assessment. We propose in this paper a set of heuristics that supports identification of conflicting requirements by providing direction and focus in the identification effort. The heuristics have been derived from a combination of literature review and experience from practitioners. In particular, a set of practitioners was interviewed orally and through a questionnaire in order to abstract and generalize their individual experiences.