Actor relationship analysis for the i* framework

Abstract

The iframework is a goal-oriented approach that addresses organizational IT requirements engineering concerns, and is considered an effective technique for analyzing dependencies between actors. However, the effectiveness and limitations of iare unclear. When we modelled an industrial case with a large number of actors using i, we discovered difficulties in (1) validating the completeness of the model, and (2) managing change. To solve these problems, we propose an actor relationship matrix analysis method (ARM) as a precursor to imodeling, which we found aided in addressing the above two issues. This paper defines our method and demonstrates it with a case study. ARM enables requirements engineers to better ensure completeness of requirements in a repeatable and systematic manner that does not currently exist in the iframework. © 2009 Springer Berlin Heidelberg.