From bart@cs.pdx.edu Mon Jul 22 05:25:23 2002 Return-Path: Received: from www.async.com.br (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by blackjesus.async.com.br (8.11.6/8.11.6) with ESMTP id g6M8PLu07063 for ; Mon, 22 Jul 2002 05:25:22 -0300 Received: from bart.cs.pdx.edu (bart.cs.pdx.edu [131.252.214.14]) by anthem.async.com.br (8.11.6/8.11.6) with ESMTP id g6M87Qn18621 for ; Mon, 22 Jul 2002 05:07:28 -0300 Received: from bart ([127.0.0.1] helo=bart.cs.pdx.edu) by bart.cs.pdx.edu with esmtp (Exim 3.35 #1 (Debian)) id 17WYBq-0004Sm-00 for ; Mon, 22 Jul 2002 01:05:10 -0700 To: Christian Reis Subject: Re: OSS Requirements Paper In-reply-to: Your message of "Wed, 17 Jul 2002 17:04:13 -0300." <20020717170413.A8362@blackjesus.async.com.br> Date: Mon, 22 Jul 2002 01:05:10 -0700 From: Bart Massey Message-Id: X-Keywords: X-UID: 148 Howdy! Glad you liked my paper: hope I can be of assistance! Sorry it's taken so long to respond. I like the questions you wrote. I took the liberty of editing them a bit: do as you will. 1.4. Was the project significantly defined by pre-existing standards, specifications or other similar sources? If so, please list the most important of these. Example: Apache Server vs. W3C HTML specification and IETF HTTP RFCs. a. Yes. (If yes, please list in comments below.) b. No. Comments: [ ] 2.4. Did you document or discuss requirements for the software during the earliest phase of development? (help) < > a. We developed and/or discussed explicit requirements specifications. < > b. We discussed requirements informally, but never produced or reviewed specifications. < > c. No, we assumed we understood the requirements. < > d. I am not sure what you mean by "requirements". < > f. Other: [ ] Comments: [ ] 4.5. Do you currently produce, discuss, or maintain requirements for the software as part of the process of software maintenance and revision? < > a. We develop and/or discuss explicit requirements specifications. < > b. We discuss requirements informally, but never produce or review specifications. < > c. No, we assume we understand the requirements. < > d. Other: [ ] Comments: [ ] Here's some other possibilities that occur to me, i.e., requirements-related things I'd be curious about. 99.1. Who do you consider to be a vital part of the "customer base" for your project. (Choose all that apply.) < > Yourself. < > Your development team. < > Users in a particular site or organization. < > Users in a particular field or area of expertise and/or need (e.g. amateur radio enthusiasts, jugglers, etc.) < > Specific commercial (i.e. paying) customers. < > The OSS community. < > The computing community. < > Other: [ ] < > Haven't thought much about it. Comments: [ ] 99.2. Do you feel that a significant fraction of your customers are dissatisfied with the way that your product meets their needs? a. Yes, they would like a different product. b. Yes, they would like a better implementation of the specified product. c. Yes, because: [ ] d. No. 99.2. Is the design or functionality of your software explicitly intended to mimic that of a specific piece of existing (commercial or OSS) software? a. Yes: It is like [ ] b. No. c. Other. Comments: [ ] 99.3. Is the principal function of your software to provide OSS interoperability with a specific piece of existing (commercial or OSS) software? a. Yes: It works with [ ] b. No. c. Other. Comments: [ ] 99.4. Did you begin your OSS project with the idea that you were producing a software package for OSS distribution? a. Yes. b. No, it was an experimental prototype. c. No, it was a learning experience for me/my team. d. No, it was a commercial project. f. Other: [ ] 99.5. Did you use any sort of "formal methods" in the development of requirements for your project. a. Yes, UML or similar object modeling. b. Yes, state charts or similar state-based tools. c. Yes, mathematical/logical descriptions and proofs. d. Yes, methods other than those listed above. Specifically: [ ] e. I'm not sure I understand the question. f. No. Hope these ideas help! Please let me know if there is any other way I might be of assistance. If you'd like me to look over your final survey before you ship, I'd be happy to do so. (I couldn't connect to the URL you gave when I tried just now.) Good luck with the survey and the thesis, and please make sure I get a copy when it's done :-). Bart Massey bart@cs.pdx.edu In message <20020717170413.A8362@blackjesus.async.com.br> you wrote: > > Hi there, > > I'm an MSc researcher that is working on the topic of Open Source > software engineering (or perhaps the inherent lack of). I was reading > through material that came from the ICSE Workshop on OSS Engineering, > and I can't say how much I agree with the position paper itself - > requirements engineering in OSS is an unknown! > > I've been a developer involved with OSS for a number of years now, and > I'm about to put together a survey for OSS project that relates to > software engineering. I've been trying to work on the questions, and I'd > like to know if you have a suggestion for a question that would relate > to requirements engineering. > > The survey is geared towards project leaders, and I will survey > something between 50 and 100 important projects, that will be > hand-picked. Its main objective is to try and elicit how open source > projects use (or don't use) explicit software engineering practices, > relating this to changes that occur from pre-release to released phases > of development (IOW, after the first public release). > > I have some questions at the moment sketched out that relate to this > topic, and I'll list them here. If you have any comments, I'd be glad to > hear them. Thanks. > > 1.4. Was there already a standard, specification or extensive > documentation available that defined a significant part of the > project? If so, please add a comment stating the most important of > them. > > Example: HTTP (Internet RFCs 1945 and 2616) for Apache. (help) > > < > a. Yes. > < > b. No. > < > c. Other: [ ] > Comments: [ ] > > --- > > 2.4. Did you document or discuss requirements for the software > during the initial phase? (help) > > < > a. We developed and/or discussed explicit requirements > specifications. > < > b. We discussed requirements informally, but never produced or > reviewed specifications. > < > c. No, we assumed we understood the requirements. > < > d. Other: [ ] > Comments: [ ] > > --- > > 4.5. Do you currently produce or discuss the requirements for the > software before coding? (help) > > < > a. We develop and/or discuss explicit requirements specifications. > < > b. We discuss requirements informally, but never produce or review > specifications. > < > c. No, we assume we understand the requirements. > < > d. Other: [ ] > Comments: [ ] > > The survey (currently being worked on) is online at > http://kiko.d2g.com/~kiko/fsp/ > > Take care, > -- > Christian Reis, Senior Engineer, Async Open Source, Brazil. > http://async.com.br/~kiko/ | [+55 16] 261 2331 | NMFL