Abstract

"Practice has proven that softgoal interdependency graphs (SIGs) are a very useful tool for recording and reasoning about non-functional requirements [4], [6], [8]. Practical reuse and design of SIGs, however, rely on the capacity of manually identifying reusable structures, interdependen-cies, and eliminating harmful redundancies. In this paper, we tackle this shortcomings by firstly proposing a frame representation, that allows us to represent SIGs in terms of lattice-like generalization/specialization hierarchies that can be queried. Secondly, we introduce a closeness criteria that, in the absence of perfect matches, will allow querying for similar or ""good enough"" approximations. This mechanism is particularly useful in the identification of softgoal inter-dependencies. Finally, we argue how the proposed strategy can be used to help identify conflicts in SIG graphs. © 2009 IEEE."