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One Model, Many Interests, Many Views
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The enhanced symbology of requirement diagrams serves those who need to understand how the
requirements are satisfied and provides an easily traceable view of the relationship of the requirements
to the applicable activities. However, that same symbology can be an inhibitor when communicating
with those who have not been trained in the notation. Frequently, it proves most effective to use
hierarchy diagrams with general audiences and equivalent requirement diagrams with systems and
software engineers.
Additional Requirement Views
Requirements are textually based and can be represented in other, more textual, views. These include
tables (such as requirements lists, traceability matrices, and verification matrices) and specifications
of various configurations tailored to the needs and uses of the modeler. It is important to note that
these representations are views as much as any diagram. Properly implemented, they are queries of
the underlying system model that extract the desired information and then present it in a structured
textual format with the information content and layout tailored to the communication purpose and the
corresponding audience.
Tables
Level of Detail:
High
Audience:
General
Content:
Requirements,
properties, and
relationships
Use:
Requirement
lists; traceability
matrices; verification
matrices