In this paper we introduce the iWatch web crawler, a tool designed to catalogue and analyze online data practices and the use of privacy related indicators and technologies. Our goal in developing iWatch was to make possible a new type of analysis of trends, the impact of legislation on practices, and geographic and social differences online. In this paper we present preliminary findings from two sets of data collected 15 months apart and analyzed with this tool. Our combined samples included more than 240,000 pages from over 24,000 domains and 47 different countries. In addition to providing useful and needed data on the state of online data practices, we show that iWatch is a promising approach to the study of the web ecosystem.

Jackson's concept of "problem frame" has influenced requirements engineering (RE) by emphasizing the constituent problems that system requirements address. But RE is itself a problem, one that may be supported by implemented systems for which, presumably, RE is the real-world domain in which the system operates. Even when the intention is not to specify RE support technology, the concept of the problem frame illuminates the assumptions that inform much RE research and practitioner literature. This paper analyzes the contribution to RE of the major problem frames identified by Jackson. Notable RE papers are analyzed through the lens of problem frames, and it is shown that the research and professional community frequently talks at cross purposes because the problems being addressed are literally framed differently and the success criteria for RE are therefore defined in ways that do not permit comparison

Studies have repeatedly shown that users are increasingly concerned about their privacy when they go online. In response to both public interest and regulatory pressures, privacy policies have become almost ubiquitous. An estimated 77% of websites now post a privacy policy. These policies differ greatly from site to site, and often address issues that are different from those that users care about. They are in most cases the users' only source of information.This paper evaluates the usability of online privacy policies, as well as the practice of posting them. We analyze 64 current privacy policies, their accessibility, writing, content and evolution over time. We examine how well these policies meet user needs and how they can be improved. We determine that significant changes need to be made to current practice to meet regulatory and usability requirements.

It has long been accepted that requirements analysis should precede architectural design and implementation, but in software evolution and reverse engineering this concern with black-box analysis of function has necessarily been de-emphasized in favor of code-based analysis and designer-oriented interpretation. In this paper, we redress this balance by describing "functional paleontology," an approach to analyzing the evolution of user-visible features or services independent of architecture and design intent. We classify the benefits and burdens of interpersonal communication services into core and peripheral categories and investigate the telephony services available to domestic subscribers over a 50-year period. We report that services were introduced in discrete bursts, each of which emphasized different benefits and burdens. We discuss the general patterns of functional evolution that this "fossil record" illustrates and conclude by discussing their implications for forward engineering of software products.

It has long been accepted that requirements analysis should precede architectural design and implementation, but in software evolution and reverse engineering this concern with black-box analysis of function has necessarily been de-emphasized in favor of code-based analysis and designer-oriented interpretation. We redress this balance by describing 'functional paleontology': an approach to analyzing the evolution of user-visible features or services independent of architecture and design intent. We classify the benefits and burdens of interpersonal communication services into core and peripheral categories and investigate the telephony services available to domestic subscribers over a fifty-year period. We report that services were introduced in discrete bursts, each of which emphasized different benefits and burdens. We discuss the general patterns of functional evolution that this "fossil record" illustrates and conclude by discussing their implications for forward engineering of software products.

Diverse uses of information technology (IT) in organizations affect privacy. Developers of electronic commerce, database management, security mechanisms, telecommunication and collaborative systems should be aware of these effects and acknowledge the need for early privacy planning during the requirements definition activity. Public concerns about the collection of personal information by consumer-based Web sites have led most organizations running such sites to establish and publish privacy policies. However, these policies often fail to align with prevalent societal values on one hand and the operational functioning of Web-based applications on the other. Assuming that such misalignments stem from imperfect appreciation of consequences and not an intent to deceive, we discuss concepts, tools and techniques to help requirements engineers and IT policy makers bring policies and system requirements into better alignment. Our objective is to encourage RE researchers and practitioners to adopt a more holistic view of application and system specification, in which a system or application is seen as an engine of policy enforcement and values attainment.

Current research in cognitive linguistics questions demonstrates that metaphor is pervasive in the understanding and communication of abstractions of all kinds. This has wide-ranging implications for how we describe actual and envisaged information artifacts. Although it is not machinery or mind or mathematics or matter, requirements engineering and design methods must take some metaphorical stance toward their subject matter. This paper investigates two types of fundamental metaphors that recur throughout requirements engineering: (1) reification of abstractions as material substances and containers; (2) spatialization of abstractions as locations, trajectories and spatial relations; and (3) anthropomorphisms, some of which have recently been codified by M. Jackson (2001) as problem frames.

The evolution and enhancement of features during system evolution can have significant effects on its coherence as well as its internal architecture. Studying the evolution of system features and concepts across a product line from an external or problem domain perspective can inform the process of identifying and designing future features. We show how we derive three primary views (morphological, functional, and an object view), from the user-level structures and operations of a system, using a case study of Microsoft Word's evolution. We show how these views illustrate feature evolution over three versions of Word. Lastly, we discuss the lessons learned from our study of feature evolution.

ScenIC is a requirements engineering method for evolving systems. Derived from the Inquiry Cycle model of requirements refinement, it uses goal refinement and scenario analysis as its primary methodological strategies. ScenIC rests on an analogy with human memory: semantic memory consists of generalizations about system properties; episodic memory consists of specific episodes and scenarios; and working memory consists of reminders about incomplete refinements. Method-specific reminders and resolution guidelines are activated by the state of episodic or semantic memory. The paper presents a summary of the ScenIC strategy and guidelines.

This paper addresses the use of goals to surface requirements for the redesign of existing or legacy systems. Goals are widely recognized as important precursors to system requirements, but the process of identifying and abstracting them has not been researched thoroughly. We present a summary of a goal-based method (GBRAM) for uncovering hidden issues, goals, and requirements and illustrate its application to a commercial system, an Intranet-based electronic commerce application, evaluating the method in the process. The core techniques comprising GBRAM are the systematic application of heuristics and inquiry questions for the analysis of goals, scenarios and obstacles. We conclude by discussing the lessons learned through applying goal refinement in the field and the implications for future research.

Software evolution is the most costly and time-consuming software development activity, yet software engineering research is predominantly concerned with initial development. MORALE is a development method specifically designed for evolving software. It features an inquiry-based approach to eliciting change requirements, a reverse engineering technique for extracting architectural information from existing code, an approach to impact assessment that determines the extent to which the existing system's architectural components can be reused in the evolved version, a reflective approach to actually perform the evolution, and a specific technique for dealing with the difficulties that arise when evolving user interfaces. MORALE is described in the context of making a specific change to an existing system: adding user-configurable viewers to Version 2.4 of the Mosaic Web browser. Issues that arise are discussed, and the Esprit de Corps tool-suite is described

The field of requirements engineering emerges out of tradition of research and engineering practice that stresses the importance of generalizations and abstractions. Although abstraction is essential to design it also has its dark side. By abstracting away from the context of an investigation, the designer too easily lapses into modeling only those things that are easy to model. The subtleties, special cases, interpretations and concrete features of the context of use are smoothed over in the rush to capture the essence of the requirements. Often, however, what is left out is essential to understanding stakeholders' needs. In contrast, approaches that stress context at the expense of abstraction may lead to floundering or to short-term customer satisfaction at the expense of long-term fragility of the system. What is needed is a synthesis of these two approaches: a synthesis that recognizes the complementary values of abstraction and context in requirements engineering and that does not relegate either one to a background role. Such a synthesis requires us not only to adopt new methods in practice but also to rethink our underlying assumptions about what requirements models are models of and what it means to validate them.

A growing awareness of the need to take into account social and contextual factors requirements engineering (RE) has led to expanded use of naturalistic inquiry (NI) methods, such as ethnography, for capturing relevant data. There is little debate about the potential value of NI to the development of systems; however, most previous discussions have emphasized practical techniques and benefits. Less attention has been given to the ontological and epistemological commitments that a naturalistic research paradigm assume and the extent to which these assumptions conflict with those that pervade RE practice. In this paper we present the axioms that NI. In each case we address both the points of agreement and tension that arise when these axioms are compared with the implicit assumptions upon which RE practice and research methods are based. We illustrate the discussion with specific examples from published sources and our experience.

The requirements engineering research and consulting communities are not serving the interests of software developers who build off-the-shelf application software. Most of our models and methods evolved with the aid of funding from organizations interested in obtaining unique systems under contract and in which there is a clear interface between "customer" and "developer". These origins have spawned many assumptions about what requirements are. Through several design scenarios I illustrate how these assumptions break down in the case of off-the-shelf software. I then suggest some alternative priorities that would address these shortcomings. My aim is to provoke and stimulate thought, not to propose a developed solution.

The inquiry cycle is a generic process model for conducting requirements elaboration. It consists of three activities: requirements expression, discussion and commitment. The paper describes an evaluation of the inquiry cycle model and a support tool, Tuiqiao, in the requirements analysis phase of a real project, a proposed commercial consumer information service based on Internet. The extent to which the discussion of requirements follows the inquiry cycle is analyzed using quantitative measures and qualitative classification schemes, and effects of adopting an inquiry-based strategy on patterns of collaboration among the team members are analyzed. The project gradually shifted from synchronous meetings to asynchronous and individual work patterns. A shift also occurred from an emphasis on discussion to an emphasis on commitment and expression. The requirements elaboration process was consistent with most aspects of the inquiry cycle, but analysts did not record reasons for requirements. The paper concludes with some recommendations for tool support.

A discussion on recording requirements assumptions and rationale is summarized. Among the topics discussed by the participants are: incrementality in rational management; grounding argumentations in construction; architecture for integrated design environments; requirements definition in design; representation of rationale; rationale management systems; and incremental formalization of rationale.>

A discussion on object-oriented analysis (OOA) is summarized. Among the topics discussed are: whether objects facilitate understanding; whether autonomy facilitates understanding; whether OOA encourages premature design; whether OOA addresses requirements volatility; the Shlaer-Mellor method; the separation of problem domains; the translation of domains; the role of prototyping in requirements engineering; tool support; and the question of distinguishing models from requirements.>

A field study of ten organizations was conducted to determine their current practices on definition, interpretation, analysis, and use of the requirements for their software systems and products. The field study consisted of a series of in-depth, structured interviews with practitioners of various kinds. The findings of this study are summarized, and the implications for improving practice either by organizational and methodological interventions or by introducing new technology are explained.>

Article Free Access Share on Object-oriented analysis for evolving systems Authors: Mitchell Lubars View Profile , Greg Meredith View Profile , Colin Potts View Profile , Charles Richter View Profile Authors Info & Claims ICSE '92: Proceedings of the 14th international conference on Software engineeringJune 1992 Pages 173–185https://doi.org/10.1145/143062.143111Published:01 June 1992Publication History 6citation488DownloadsMetricsTotal Citations6Total Downloads488Last 12 Months50Last 6 weeks35 Get Citation AlertsNew Citation Alert added!This alert has been successfully added and will be sent to:You will be notified whenever a record that you have chosen has been cited.To manage your alert preferences, click on the button below.Manage my AlertsNew Citation Alert!Please log in to your account Save to BinderSave to BinderCreate a New BinderNameCancelCreateExport CitationPublisher SiteeReaderPDF

Article Free Access Share on A generic model for representing design methods Author: Colin Potts MCC, Software Technology Program, 9390 Research Blvd., Kaleido II Bldg., Austin, Texas MCC, Software Technology Program, 9390 Research Blvd., Kaleido II Bldg., Austin, TexasView Profile Authors Info & Claims ICSE '89: Proceedings of the 11th international conference on Software engineeringMay 1989 Pages 217–226https://doi.org/10.1145/74587.74616Published:15 May 1989Publication History 33citation673DownloadsMetricsTotal Citations33Total Downloads673Last 12 Months37Last 6 weeks12 Get Citation AlertsNew Citation Alert added!This alert has been successfully added and will be sent to:You will be notified whenever a record that you have chosen has been cited.To manage your alert preferences, click on the button below.Manage my AlertsNew Citation Alert!Please log in to your account Save to BinderSave to BinderCreate a New BinderNameCancelCreateExport CitationPublisher SiteeReaderPDF