Requirements interchange format

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Requirements interchange format
logo
File extension : .reqif .reqifz
Developed by: Object Management Group
Initial release: April 2011
Current version: 1.2 (as of July 2016)
Type: Exchange format
Container for: conditions
Extended by: XML
Website : OMG website

RIF / ReqIF ( Requirements Interchange Format , English exchange format for requirements) is an XML can be exchanged file format, different with the aid requirements including associated metadata between software tools manufacturer. Together with the change exchange format, a procedure ("workflow") is also defined that describes the transfer of the status of requirements between the client and the contractor. Although it originated in the automotive industry, ReqIF is generally a suitable format for the loss-free exchange of requirements.

History of origin

The Manufacturer Initiative Software (HIS) began in 2004 under the name RIF with the definition of a generic change exchange format.

For further maintenance, RIF was sent to ProSTEP iViP e. V. handed over. There, a project group is driving international standardization and in 2010 submitted a revised version of the change exchange format as a request for comment to the Object Management Group (OMG).

To avoid confusion with the W3C standard RIF (the Rule Interchange Format ), ReqIF was introduced in 2010 as the abbreviation for the OMG Requirements Interchange Format.

In April 2011, ReqIF was adopted by the OMG in version 1.0.1 as a formal specification (OMG Document Number: formal / 2011-04-02).

Version 1.1 was released in October 2013 (OMG Document Number: formal / 2013-10-01). Only the text of the standard has changed, but not the XML schema or the underlying data model. Therefore, ReqIF files of versions 1.1 and 1.0.1 are equivalent.

Version 1.2 was released in July 2016 (OMG Document Number: formal / 2016-07-01). As with version 1.1, the changes to the specification are backwards compatible . Therefore, ReqIF files of versions 1.2, 1.1 and 1.0.1 are equivalent.

properties

ReqIF allows the exchange of requirements, requirement attributes and additional files (e.g. for graphics) across multiple levels of clients, contractors and subcontractors using exchange files . A GUID is used to clearly identify a requirement and remains unchanged throughout the entire process chain regardless of changes to the content. By using a GUID, relationships between different levels of requirements are also clearly possible.

Areas of application

Requirements are primarily recorded, jointly evaluated and defined during the early phases of product development. The primary area of ​​application of ReqIF is derived from this, because product development is increasingly taking place across companies. ReqIF is used to exchange and update requirements between several partners involved in a project with possibly different software tools. In contrast to the use of Word, Excel or PDF files, ReqIF enables lossless data exchange.

Automobile manufacturers are playing a pioneering role in the use of ReqIF, since they require ReqIF as the standard exchange format, particularly when developing control units.

ReqIF is now also used as a data model for implementations. This is particularly the case with the ReqIF reference implementation ( Eclipse RMF ), which is used in a ProStep implementation forum to ensure that commercial software is interoperable with regard to ReqIF . ReqIF Server is another tool that uses ReqIF directly as a data model.

How ReqIF works

RIF / ReqIF is a standardized meta-model and is defined by an XML schema. RIF / ReqIF files should correspond to the scheme and contain both the description of the model (the data types) and the data itself. A successful data exchange between different requirements management tools is only possible if a common data model is agreed beforehand after the RIF / ReqIF data can be exported and imported. Currently (2012) the “ProSTEP ReqIF Implementor Forum” is developing such a joint model and organizing a test with tools from the software manufacturers involved in order to ensure future interoperability.

Structure of ReqIF files

An OMG-ReqIF-XML file consists of the root element "REQ-IF", in which information about the file itself as well as the data types and requirements used in the file are embedded.

ReqIF uses so-called specification objects with definable attributes to describe requirements . Each attribute of a specification object has a data type, including Boolean , Integer , Real , String , selection types with defined values ​​or XHTML texts, which means that formatted texts and embedded images can also be displayed. Numerical data types can be restricted in their value range for specific projects.

Relations can represent relationships between objects, e.g. dependencies or contradictions. Like objects, relations can also have attributes.

Finally, hierarchical trees ( specifications ) are used to create structured views of the requirements, whereby objects in a tree can occur several times or in several trees.

Implementation guidelines

As part of the ProSTEP Implementor Forum, a number of recommendations were made that were summarized in an implementation guideline. Recommendations include:

  • Use of the extensions .reqif and .reqifz (zipped archives) for files.
  • Introduction of standard names for attributes which tools can then automatically transfer to the internal display (ReqIF.Name, ReqIF.ForeignID, etc.)
  • Guidelines for dealing with read-only system attributes
  • Guidelines for dealing with DOORS tables
  • Guidelines for dealing with embedded objects
  • Further guidelines on topics such as Conversation ID, RelationGroupType, XHTML simplification, SpecHierarchy access rights and schema referencing.

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ^ ReqIF Implementor Forum. ProSTEP website, accessed May 28, 2013.
  2. ↑ ReqIf Server Homepage , accessed May 30, 2013.
  3. ↑ ReqIF Implementor Guideline (chargeable). ProSTEP website, accessed July 10, 2013.

Web links