Investigation of Expert Systems Usage for Software Requirements Development in the Strategic Defense Initiative Environment

摘要

The Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) poses a significant challenge to the United States, namely how to counter the threat of Soviet nuclear ballistic missiles. Part of the solution to this problem involves the development of sophisticated automatic programming techniques. Embedded within these techniques is how to develop and check the consistency of evolving SDI-related software requirements. This report addresses what has been done in developing tools for software requirements determination and what has to be done in developing future software requirements tools for the SDI environment. The use of expert systems in an inherent part of these considerations. This report first develops a basic foundation on software design. Specifically, its definition, emergence, description, and methodologies and tools are addressed. Afterwards, the SDI environment and its associated problems are described. Then, recommendations for a knowledge-based software requirements development approach are explained.