INTERACTIVE DECISION-SUPPORT FOR REQUIREMENTS NEGOTIATION

The concurrent engineering approach calls for the simultaneous conside ration of a variety of concerns from a variety of perspectives. When a team is provided proper tools, such multi-faceted analysis can reduce many common oversights early in the design process. However, issues c ommon to all group interactions can hinder a concurrent engineering te am. We present research which supports concurrent engineering teamwork during the initial, requirement, and specification stages of system d esign. Developing requirements from a group of analysts and system use rs is a difficult task. In addition to the usual problems of individua l requirements acquisition, group requirements acquisition entails con flict detection, resolution generation, and resolution choice. In esse nce, requirements must be negotiated. In this article we present a mod el for requirements negotiation and its automated support. The model c alls for the independent representation of user requirements followed by their negotiation. The model centers around three themes: user part icipation, resolution generation, and negotiation records. To support these themes, we have built a tool which provides: (1) automated metho ds for conflict detection and resolution generation; (2) an interactiv e resolution choice procedure; and (3) records of the negotiation proc ess. After presenting the tool, called Oz, we describe the use of its interactive resolution search and choice procedure. We conclude that i nteractive decision support is necessary for effective requirements ne gotiation.