A framework for the management of evolving requirements in software systems supporting network-centric warfare

Abstract

Network-centric warfare (NCW) has changed the way the Department of Defense addresses technological improvements for its military forces. No longer is the emphasis on enhancing the capabilities of a single platform, but the focus is now on networking people, processes and technology to enable knowledge sharing and rapid decision-making. The capabilities required to support network-centric operations (NCO) in the NCW environment must be supported by new, innovative networked communication technologies. There are many sources of requirements for these software systems supporting NCO, which may increase in number as the Services continue to develop the capabilities necessary for the transformation to a fully networked military force. Requirements may also emerge and continue to evolve following the fielding of a NCO capability because new technology has the potential to change how warfighters work. Requirements evolution results in requirements engineering challenges associated with the acquisition and development of network-centric software systems. As such, an approach is needed to provide for consistency in elicitation, management and documentation of evolving requirements for technological capabilities supporting NCO. The purpose of this research is to address the problem of evolving requirements. The requirements engineering framework proposed by this thesis incorporates classification theory and requirements modeling principles, and is supported by the Extensible Markup Language (XML) family of technologies. Particular attention has been paid to the selection of non-proprietary, platform independent technology to ensure data can be exchanged between organizations. The framework demonstrates a means by which requirements can be classified and structured in a standardized format. The result is a set of requirements that is consistent in structure and content, and that can be easily shared among all stakeholders because it utilizes one standard, non-proprietary format. This approach captures evolving software requirements of fielded network-centric software systems for use in the development of future systems.