RAAP: A requirements analysis and assessment process framework for component-based system (Invited paper)

Success of a Component Based System (CBS) depends heavily on the selection of the right components. In reality, components are usually designed for general purposes and finding the ideal ones is often very difficult. The CBS requirements process is hence more complicated than the conventional approach. In this paper, we present a Requirements Analysis and Assessment Process (RAAP) for CBS that can provide quantitative information and guidelines for stakeholders to evaluate the suitability of the components for a given set of requirements. Subsequently, they will be able to select the most appropriate components that best satisfy their needs, taking into consideration the risks involved and the conflicts that could arise as a result of selecting certain components earlier in the process. RAAP consists of three phases: (i) requirements characterization which elicits user requirements; (ii) top-down analysis which calculates the degree of satisfaction of a component and the amount of risks involved; and (iii) trade-off analysis which identifies and resolves the potential conflicts in requirements after certain components have been selected. We also present an application of RAAP to the Seven Eleven Japan system.