Lessons Learned from and for Requirements Engineering and Building Construction: A Case Study of Requirements Engineering for a Synagogue Kitchen with Use Cases and Scenarios

摘要

[Context and Motivation] Use cases and scenarios (UCaSs) are used in Requirements Engineering (RE) to illustrate a system's interactions with its users' roles to achieve the users' functional goals. UCaSs help achieve completeness in the specification of the system's requirements, to achieve an alignment between the needs of the system's client and the ultimate implemented system. [Question/Problem] Are UCaSs and other RE techniques applicable to the requirements analysis for building construction? [Principal Ideas/Results] This paper reports a case study of action research, describing an experience by the authors in applying UCaSs to help determine the requirements for a synagogue kitchen. The authors conducted a UCaS-driven requirements analysis and a flow analysis based on the original kitchen plan, produced by a professional architect. These analyses allowed the authors (1) to expose the lack of essential features for a synagogue kitchen, (2) to produce an improved plan for the kitchen, and (3) to demonstrate to the synagogue kitchen's client why the improved plan should better satisfy his requirements. The results of the analyses were validated with the help of a two-part survey conducted with people known to be knowledgeable about requirements for kosher kitchens. [Contribution] The case study provides a set of lessons learned for RE and for Architecture, Engineering, and Construction.