Towards Integration of Context-Based and Scenario-Based Development

Achiya Elyasaf, David Harel, Assaf Marron, Gera Weiss

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

2 Scopus citations

Abstract

In scenario-based models of reactive systems complex specifications are divided into artifacts corresponding to separate aspects of overall system behavior, as they may appear, e.g., in a robot’s requirements document or user specifications. The advantages of scenario-based development include intuitiveness and clarity, the ability to execute or simulate specifications of early prototypes and of final systems, and the ability to verify the specification for early detection of conflicts, omissions, and errors. In this position paper we discuss two issues that emerge when applying scenario-based development in complex cases: (a) simple scenarios become unwieldy when subjected to a growing number of conditions, exceptions and refinements, and (b) it is hard to understand and maintain a large ‘flat’ specification, consisting of an unorganized list of independently-specified scenarios, simple as they may individually be. We address these issues by basing certain facets of scenario design on context, an increasingly popular foundational consideration in software engineering. We first show how one can incorporate context into the graphical language of live sequence charts (LSC) using existing LSC idioms. We then outline two other possibilities: (i) enriching the LSC language, or (ii) embedding LSCs within hierarchical state machines, namely, statecharts. We believe that this research can contribute to the broader goals of developing complex and powerful reactive systems in intuitive and robust ways.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationSoftware Technologies
Subtitle of host publicationApplications and Foundations - STAF 2017 Collocated Workshops, Revised Selected Papers
EditorsSteffen Zschaler, Martina Seidl
PublisherSpringer Verlag
Pages225-231
Number of pages7
ISBN (Print)9783319747293
DOIs
StatePublished - 23 Jan 2018
EventInternational conference on Software Technologies: Applications and Foundations, STAF 2017 - Marburg, Germany
Duration: 17 Jul 201721 Jul 2017

Publication series

NameLecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics)
Volume10748 LNCS
ISSN (Print)0302-9743
ISSN (Electronic)1611-3349

Conference

ConferenceInternational conference on Software Technologies: Applications and Foundations, STAF 2017
Country/TerritoryGermany
CityMarburg
Period17/07/1721/07/17

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Theoretical Computer Science
  • General Computer Science

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