Simplicity, uniformity and quality - the role of semantic analysis in systems development

Abstract

Industrial experience shows that heavy investment in IT does not always bring in a satisfactory economic return due to very often quality problems, which was partly caused by inadequacy of user requirements analysis and representation. Semantic Analysis, a method developed for analysing and specifying user requirements based on an 'agent-in-action' ontology, has demonstrated a way to improve software quality. The semantic structure is preserved through design and implementation in order to produce a satisfactory system. To this end, a set of methods and tools for systems engineering has be developed around Semantic Analysis and supported by Normbase. This approach has demonstrated several advantages in systems engineering such as concision of requirements representation, drastic reduction of documentation, and low cost of maintenance.