Defining an annex language to the architecture analysis and design language for requirements engineering activities support

Abstract

Several requirements modeling languages such as the requirements package of SysML have been developed to improve the elicitation, analysis, validation and verification of requirements during project development life cycles. However, none of these languages is generic enough to embed explicit traces to components of arbitrary system architecture languages intending to provide a solution to the problem formalized by requirements specifications. For example, systems engineers using the Architecture Analysis and Design Language (AADL) cannot broidge SysML requirements to their architecture models in the same way it is done for UML models. The only way would be to define an external trace model linking the requirements to AADL model elements. In this paper, the new Requirements Definition and Analysis Language (RDAL) is presented. Inspired from SysML and the IEEE 15288 system life cycle processes standards, RDAL requirements can be traced to elements from any language of the solution domain, according to a settings model defining the allowed element types. Moreover, RDAL requirements can be expressed formally in terms of any constraint language such as OCL or REAL (for AADL) to provide automated verification against the associated solution (architecture) models. RDAL also adds important requirements engineering concepts such as environmental assumptions and goals not covered in SysML. RDAL is currently being standardized by the SAE AS-2C committee to become an annex of AADL.