Requirements Interchange Format

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RIF / ReqIF ( Requirements Interchange Format, English exchange format for requirements ) is an XML file format that can be exchanged with the aid requirements including associated metadata between software tools from different manufacturers. With the change in exchange format together also a procedure ( "Workflow" ) is defined, which describes the transmission of the status of requirements between client and contractor. Although developed in the automotive industry, ReqIF is generally compatible for the lossless interchange of requests format.

Genesis

Producers Initiative Software ( HIS) began in 2004 under the name of RIF with the definition of a generic change exchange format.

To further care RIF in 2008 handed over to the ProSTEP iViP eV. There drives a project group led by the international standardization and handed in 2010 a revised version of the amendment exchange format as Request for Comment in the Object Management Group (OMG) a.

To avoid confusion with the W3C standard RIF ( the Rule Interchange Format) to avoid 2010 ReqIF was introduced as a shorthand notation of the OMG Requirements Interchange Format.

In April 2011 ReqIF was developed by the OMG in version 1.0.1 as a formal specification: adopted (OMG Document Number formal/2011-04-02 ).

In October 2013, Version 1.1 was released (OMG Document Number: formal/2013-10-01 ). Only the text of the standards has changed, but not the XML schema or the underlying data model. Therefore ReqIF files from versions 1.1 and 1.0.1 are equivalent.

Properties

ReqIF allowed by exchange files across the exchange of requirements, requirement attributes and additional files (eg graphics ) across multiple levels of clients, contractors and subcontractors. To uniquely identify a requirements used is a GUID that remains constant regardless of changes in the contents unchanged throughout the entire process chain. By using a GUID also relations between different levels of requirements are clearly possible.

Areas of application

Requirements ( requirements) are recorded primarily during the early stages of product development, jointly assessed and determined. Hence, the primary area of ​​application of ReqIF derives, because product development is increasingly carried across companies. ReqIF is used to exchange requirements between several partners involved in a project with potentially different software tools and update. In contrast to the use of Word, Excel, or PDF files ReqIF allows doing the lossless data exchange.

A pioneering the use of ReqIF assume the car manufacturers who demand especially in the development of electronic control units ReqIF as a standard exchange format.

ReqIF is now also used as a data model for implementation. In particular, this in ReqIF reference implementation (Eclipse RMF) is the case that is used in a forum Implemented the ProStep to ensure that commercial software is regarding ReqIF interoperable. ReqIF server is another tool that uses ReqIF directly as a data model.

Operation of ReqIF

RIF / ReqIF is a standardized meta- model and is defined by an XML schema. RIF / ReqIF files should conform to the schema and contains both the description of the model ( data types) as well as the data itself manages a successful data exchange between various requirements management tools that is accessible, if a common data model is agreed after the RIF / ReqIF data will be exported and imported. Currently (2012 ) developed the " ProSTEP ReqIF Implementor Forum " such a common model and organized a test with tools of the participating software vendors to ensure interoperability in the future.

Building ReqIF files

An OMG ReqIF XML file consists of the XML root element " REQ IF " in the information about the file itself and the data types and requirements used in the file are embedded.

ReqIF used to describe requirements ( "requirements " ) called specification objects with definable attributes. Each attribute of a specification objects each has a data type, including Boolean, Integer, Real, String, selection types with defined values ​​or XHTML texts, which also formatted text and embedded images are displayed. Numeric data types can be project-specific restricted in their range of values.

Relations can represent relations between objects, so for example, dependencies or contradictions. Even relationships can have attributes like objects.

Finally, hierarchical trees ( specifications ) are used to form articulated views on the requirements, where objects can appear in a tree multiple times or in multiple trees.

Implementation guidelines

As part of the ProSTEP Implementor Forum, a number of recommendations were made, which were summarized in an implementation guideline. The recommendations include

  • Terms of endings ReqIF. , And. Reqifz (zipped archives ) for files.
  • Introduction of standard names for attributes, which can then be automatically transferred from tools on the internal representation ( ReqIF.Name, ReqIF.ForeignID, and many more)
  • Guidelines for dealing with write -protected system attributes
  • Guidelines for dealing with DOORS tables
  • Guidelines for dealing with embedded objects
  • For more guidelines on topics such as Conversation ID, Relation Group Type, XHTML simplification, SpecHierarchy permissions and schema referencing.
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