CONTEXT. Goal models have long been critiqued for the time it takes to construct them as well as for their limited cognitive and visual scalability. Is such criticism general or does it depend on the supported task? OBJECTIVES. We advocate for the latter and the aim of this paper is to demonstrate that the next release problem is a suitable application domain for goal models. This hypothesis stems from the fact that product release management is a long-term investment, and software products are commonly managed in "themes" which are smaller focus areas of the product. METHODS. We employ a version of goal models that is tailored for the next release problem by capturing requirements, synergies among them, constraints, and release objectives. Such goal model allows discovering optimal solutions considering multiple criteria for the next release. RESULTS. A retrospective case study confirms that goal models are easier to read and comprehend when organized in themes, and that the reasoning results help product managers decide for the next release. Our scalability experiments show that, through reasoning based on optimization modulo theories, the discovery of the optimal solution is fast and scales sufficiently well with respect to the model size, connectivity, and number of alternative solutions.

The next release problem revisited: A new avenue for goal models / Aydemir, Fatma Basak; Dalpiaz, Fabiano; Brinkkemper, Sjaak; Giorgini, Paolo; Mylopoulos, John. - (2018), pp. 5-16. (Intervento presentato al convegno 26th IEEE International Requirements Engineering Conference, RE 2018 tenutosi a Banff, Alberta, CAN nel 20th-24th August 2018) [10.1109/RE.2018.00-56].

The next release problem revisited: A new avenue for goal models

Aydemir, Fatma Basak;Dalpiaz, Fabiano;Giorgini, Paolo;Mylopoulos, John
2018-01-01

Abstract

CONTEXT. Goal models have long been critiqued for the time it takes to construct them as well as for their limited cognitive and visual scalability. Is such criticism general or does it depend on the supported task? OBJECTIVES. We advocate for the latter and the aim of this paper is to demonstrate that the next release problem is a suitable application domain for goal models. This hypothesis stems from the fact that product release management is a long-term investment, and software products are commonly managed in "themes" which are smaller focus areas of the product. METHODS. We employ a version of goal models that is tailored for the next release problem by capturing requirements, synergies among them, constraints, and release objectives. Such goal model allows discovering optimal solutions considering multiple criteria for the next release. RESULTS. A retrospective case study confirms that goal models are easier to read and comprehend when organized in themes, and that the reasoning results help product managers decide for the next release. Our scalability experiments show that, through reasoning based on optimization modulo theories, the discovery of the optimal solution is fast and scales sufficiently well with respect to the model size, connectivity, and number of alternative solutions.
2018
Proceedings: 2018 IEEE 26th International Requirements Engineering Conference, RE 2018
Piscataway, NJ
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.
9781538674185
Aydemir, Fatma Basak; Dalpiaz, Fabiano; Brinkkemper, Sjaak; Giorgini, Paolo; Mylopoulos, John
The next release problem revisited: A new avenue for goal models / Aydemir, Fatma Basak; Dalpiaz, Fabiano; Brinkkemper, Sjaak; Giorgini, Paolo; Mylopoulos, John. - (2018), pp. 5-16. (Intervento presentato al convegno 26th IEEE International Requirements Engineering Conference, RE 2018 tenutosi a Banff, Alberta, CAN nel 20th-24th August 2018) [10.1109/RE.2018.00-56].
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11572/228485
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