Deliverable D2.2: User requirements analysis & development/test recommendation

Abstract

This document aims at gathering the user requirements necessary for development of the SPIKE platform. Within this document, the individual instruments applied as well as results of applying these instruments are presented. Furthermore, each of SPIKE’s application case is presented together with use cases and user requirements stemming from each of them:

• Information Hotel: Providing Intra- and Interorganisational Technical Documentation Services 
• Legacy Applications
• Identity Federations

As a result, 35 functional and 24 non-functional have been identified during the user requirements analysis phase and outlined within this document. These requirements will be used for setting up trial definitions of the two trials where the SPIKE platform is to be validated against the user requirements.

The vision of SPIKE is to implement a system for enterprises of all sizes to be used for realizing competitive advantage via forming business alliances.

The main goals of the SPIKE project can be summarized on two levels: organisational objectives and realizing scientific and technological objectives. The main organisational objective is to allow for the secure fast set-up and management of networked enterprises, whereas the main technical objective is to develop generic solutions for inter-enterprise interoperability and collaboration through reference scenarios and guidelines for their use.

In order to achieve these goals, the requirements for such a system have to be properly defined. The instruments used to gather the SPIKE requirements are market research and three application cases, which were defined by the SPIKE partners AIT, CIT and INF.

During the phase of market research, a survey was conducted and participated by 25 companies. The completed questionnaires, four interviews and a secondary market research - consisting of results from other related research projects - resulted in a bundle of requirements which should be regarded as a completion to the requirements and use cases coming from the application cases.

The application cases (AC) are: Intra- and Interorganisational Offering of Technical Documentation Services (AC 1), Integrating Legacy Systems (AC 2) and Identity Federation (AC 3). Each application case is structured into a number of use cases. These use cases are the most important method describing the dynamic functional behaviour of the SPIKE system.

In AC 1, the SPIKE system will be used to control and automate the supplier vs. client documentation management processes and related sub-processes. It is described by nine use cases: uploading and sending documents, receiving documents from supplier, verifying uploaded documents, verifying received documents near deadline, sending reminder messages to suppliers, monitoring list of blocked invoices, creating a complaint for missing documents, viewing reports about supplier – client communication, assigning users to groups according to project.

AC 2 describes the requirements how to locate services of partners, use them in a structured way and integrate them into workflows on a detailed level. AC 2 is described by eight use cases:

• create/maintain/delete user account for service provider, create/maintain/delete service
• information and configuration, track services ordered by reports, search for service required
• order service, cancel contract for a service, use a contracted service, perform a contracted service

AC 3 will allow individuals to use the same account and password they have in their company to get access to a network of a collaboration partner via the SPIKE platform. AC 3 is described by six use cases: collaboration setup, role and resource management, collaboration phase, adjust collaboration, extend/reduce collaboration, finish collaboration.

The development process will be characterized by deployment from early beginning. Therefore two trial tests will be conducted. The SPIKE system will be developed in an iterative process giving the SPIKE user partners the opportunity to modify their use cases after each trial test.

Trial 1 (Basic components), running from month 21 to month 25, will focus on the following aspects: basic platform services, basic workflow operational services, basic collaboration support.

D2.2: User requirements analysis & development/test recommendations

Trial 2 (Integrated platform), running from month 31 to month 34, will consist of three building blocks:

• identity federation with the focus on implementing single-sign-on techniques

• application integration with the focus on embracing existing applications

• support of services with the focus on automatic locating and usage of services

The requirements coming from all sources are listed in chapter 8, classified as "functional" or "non functional" and prioritised as "must", "medium", "low" and "future" ("future" means fulfilled after the end of the SPIKE project).

The requirement analysis specification will be updated continuously during the project lifetime. The life cycle of the SPIKE requirement analysis is shown in Figure 2-4. support of services with the focus on automatic locating and usage of services.

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D.2.2 User requirements analysis & development test recommendation

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