luu@VAXA.ISI.EDU (Kim Chau Luu) (03/29/88)
Title : The Knowledge Based Specification Assistant
Speaker : Lewis Johnson
Location : USC/Information Sciences Institute
4676 Admiralty Way
Marina Del Rey, CA 90292-6695
11th Floor Large Conference Room
Date : April 6, 1988
Time : 3:00 - 5:00PM
Abstract:
Software specification is the process of constructing a design for a
system to achieve some desired outcome in the world. It involves
analyzing the domain of application, identifying requirements which the
software must meet, and then developing a specification of a system that
can meet these requirements. The Knowledge-Based Specification
Assistant Project (KBSA) is building a tool to actively assist in this
process. It supports our view of the specification process as one of
incremental model construction and transformational derivation. A
specifier starts by developing an explicit model of the application
domain, and of the requirements to be met by the software. This model
is developed incrementally over time, as the specifier's understanding
of the problem improves. A specification is then developed by
transforming the requirements into an implementable form. The KBSA
system assists this process as follows: a) by applying the
transformations necessary to develop the specification, b) by analyzing
the specification, to help identify where transformations must be
applied, and c) by paraphrasing and explaining the specification.