A Framework for Requirements Engineering Using System Dynamics

In many systems engineering activities the elicitation of requirements is regarded as a central activity for the efficient and effective functioning of the intended system. In recent years, the field of Requirements Engineering has received much attention and many research and practical approaches have been proposed. In this paper we present a Requirements Engineering framework that is motivated by the System Dynamics paradigm. The framework consists of four key activities: ontology modelling, goal modelling, process modelling and scenarios generation. It is our premise that the synergy between these four activities results in a robust way of working that provides requirements stakeholders with a systematic approach to articulating, defining, debating, and agreeing on the set of desirable functional and non-functional properties of the intended system. The approach is demonstrated with examples from a very large application and claims substantiated from experiences from this project.