Abstract
Conceptual modeling notations are often designed without the benefit of empirical input. Reflective analysis of modeling languages can help find the gap between the intended design of the language and its use in practice. In this paper, we study instances of the i* goal and agent-oriented Framework to analyze differences between the core i* syntax developed at the University of Toronto and existing variations. We have surveyed 15 student assignments and 15 academic papers and presentations in order to capture and analyze the most common i* syntax variations. Through this analysis we offer insights into i* syntax and suggestions to improve the framework and increase consistency between models.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Yu, E.: Modeling Strategic Relationships for Process Reengineering. Ph.D thesis, Department of Computer Science, University of Toronto, Canada (1995)
Yu, E.: Towards Modelling and Reasoning Support for Early-Phase Requirements Engineering. In: Proc. of the 3rd Requirements Engineering Conf., RE 1997, pp. 226–235 (1997)
Castro, J., Kolp, M., Mylopoulos, J.: A requirements-driven development methodology. In: Dittrich, K.R., Geppert, A., Norrie, M.C. (eds.) CAiSE 2001. LNCS, vol. 2068, pp. 108–123. Springer, Heidelberg (2001)
Jones, S., Maiden, N.A.M.: RESCUE: An integrated method for specifying requirements for complex socio-technical systems. In: Mate, J.L., Silva, A. (eds.) Requirements Engineering for Sociotechnical Systems. Idea Group Inc. (2005)
Moody, D.: What Makes a Good Diagram? Improving the Cognitive Effectiveness of Diagrams in IS Development. In: Proc. of the 15th Int. Conf. in Information Systems Development, ISD 2006, pp. 481–492 (2006)
Gurr, C., Tourlas, K.: Towards the principled design of software engineering diagrams. In: Proc. of the 22nd Int. Con. on Software Engineering, ICSE 2000, pp. 509–518 (2000)
Lange, C.F.J., Chaudron, M.R.V.: An Empirical Assessment of Completeness in UML Designs. In: Proc. of the Int. Conf. on Empirical Assessment in Software Engineering, EASE 2004, pp. 111–119 (2004)
Lange, C.F.J., Chaudron, M.R.V.: Effects of defects in UML models: an experimental investigation. In: Proc. of the 28th Int. Con. on Software Engineering, ICSE 2006, pp. 401–411 (2006)
Webster, I., Amaral, J., Cysneiros Filho, L.M.: A Survey of Good Practices and Misuses for Modelling with i* Framework. In: Proc. of the VIII Workshop on Requirements Engineering, WER 2005, pp. 148–160 (2005)
Horkoff, J.: Using i* Models for Evaluation, Masters Thesis, University of Toronto, Department of Computer Science (2006)
i* Guidelines, version 3 (2007), http://istar.rwth-aachen.de/tiki-index.php?page_ref_id=67
Chung, L., Nixon, B.A., Yu, E., Mylopoulos, J.: Non-Functional Requirements in Software Engineering. Kluwer Academic Publishing, Dordrecht (2000)
Liu, L., Yu, E., Mylopoulos, J.: Security and Privacy Requirements Analysis within a Social Setting. In: IEEE Joint Int. Conf. on Requirements Engineering, RE 2003, pp. 151–161 (2003)
Gans, G., Jarke, M., Lakemeyer, G., Schmitz, D.: Deliberation in a metadata-based modeling and simulation environment for inter-organizational networks. In: Eder, J., Missikoff, M. (eds.) CAiSE 2003. LNCS, vol. 2681, pp. 587–607. Springer, Heidelberg (2003)
Samavi, R., Yu, E., Topaloglou, T.: Strategic reasoning about business models: a conceptual modeling approach. Journal of Information Systems and E-Business Management (2008)
Grau, G., Franch, X., Maiden, N.A.M.: A goal based round-trip method for system development. In: Proc. of the 11th Int. Workshop on Requirements Engineering: Foundation For Software Quality, REFSQ, pp. 71–86 (2005)
Raadt, V.D., Gordijn, J., Yu, E.: Exploring Web Services from a Business Value Perspective. In: IEEE Joint Int. Conf. on Requirements Engineering, RE 2005, pp. 53–62 (2005)
Lespérance, y., Lapouchnian, A.: On Using i* for Modeling Autonomy, Reasoning, and Planning in Adaptive Systems. In: Presentation in istar 2008 Workshop (2008)
Oliveira, A.P.A., Prado Leite, J.S.C., Cysneiros, L.M.: AGFL - Agent Goals from Lexicon Eliciting Multi-Agent Systems Intentionality. In: star 2008 Workshop (2008)
Kolp, M., Faulkner, S.: The SKwyRL Approach: Social/Spiral Design based on i* and Tropos. In: istar 2005 Workshop (2005)
Maiden, N.A.M., Kamdar, N., Bush, D.: Analyzing I* System Models for Dependability Properties: The Uberlingen Accident. In: Proc. of the 12th Int. Workshop on Requirements Engineering: Foundation For Software Quality, REFSQ (2006)
Elahi, G., Yu, E.: A Goal Oriented Approach for Modeling and Analyzing Security Trade-Offs. In: Parent, C., Schewe, K.-D., Storey, V.C., Thalheim, B. (eds.) ER 2007. LNCS, vol. 4801, pp. 375–390. Springer, Heidelberg (2007)
Strohmaier, M., Yu, E., Horkoff, J., Aranda, J., Easterbrook, S.M.: Analyzing Knowledge Transfer Effectiveness -An Agent-Oriented Modeling Approach. In: Proc. of 40th Hawaii International Conference on Systems Science, HICSS 2007, p. 188 (2007)
Yu, E., Strohmaier, M., Deng, X.: Exploring Intentional Modeling and Analysis for Enterprise Architecture. In: Proc. of the EDOC 2006 Conf. Workshop on Trends in Enterprise Architecture Research, TEAR 2006 (2006)
Mazón, J., Trujillo, J., Serrano, M., Piattini, M.: Designing data warehouses: From business requirement analysis to multidimensional modeling. In: Proc. of Int. Workshop on Requirements Engineering for Business Needs and IT Alignment (2005)
Arzdorf, T., Gans, G., Jarke, M., Lakemeyer, G., Schmitz, D.: SNet: A Modeling and Simulation Environment for Inter-Organizational Networks. In: istar 2005 Workshop (2005)
Kolp, M., Do, T.T., Faulkner, S.: Multi-Agent Architecture for E-Business Systems: An Organizational Perspective. In: Proc. of 23rd Int. Conf. on Information Systems (2002)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2008 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this paper
Cite this paper
Horkoff, J., Elahi, G., Abdulhadi, S., Yu, E. (2008). Reflective Analysis of the Syntax and Semantics of the i* Framework. In: Song, IY., et al. Advances in Conceptual Modeling – Challenges and Opportunities. ER 2008. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 5232. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-87991-6_31
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-87991-6_31
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-540-87990-9
Online ISBN: 978-3-540-87991-6
eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)