Barry Boehm: An Initial Ontology for System Quality Attributes

Abstract: This talk presents an initial ontology for reasoning about a
system’s quality attributes (QAs), ilities, or non-functional
requirements (reliability, usability, affordability, etc.). The need for
such an ontology is based primarily on two factors. One is the
importance of getting a system’s QAs sufficiently well defined that the
system’s definition, development and evolution result in a satisfactory
balance of QA values for the system’s success-critical stakeholders,
given the frequent system shortfalls and overruns that occur when this
balance is not achieved. The other is that current system acquisition
and evolution guidance descriptions have numerous deficiencies and
inconsistencies in their coverage of QA considerations. This situation
is becoming more serious as systems and their stakeholders become
increasingly complex, dynamic, and diverse. This talk provides an
elaboration of the needs, a set of initial QA ontology elements and
definitions, examples of their application to some key QAs and their
relationships, and an identification of further research and development
needed to make the ontology fully useful and evolvable.

Bio: see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barry_Boehm