Converting scenarios to CSP traces with Mise en Scene for requirements-based programming

The Requirements-to-Design-to-Code (R2D2C) project of NASA’s Software Engineering Laboratory is based on inferring a formal specification expressed in Communicating Sequential Processes (CSP) from system requirements supplied in the form of CSP traces. The traces, in turn, are to be derived from scenarios, a user-friendly medium used to describe the required behavior of computer systems under development. An extensive survey of the “scenario” concept and an overview of scenario-based approaches to system engineering are presented. This work, called Mise en Scene, defines a new scenario medium (scenario notation language, SNL) suitable for control-dominated systems, coupled with a two-stage process for automatic translation of scenarios to a new trace medium (trace notation language, TNL), which encompasses CSP traces. Notes on progress toward a “smart” scenario authoring tool are provided, as well as a detailed case study. This work was originally presented at the Software Engineering Workshop (SEW-31) in March 2007. It was supported by research grants from Canada’s Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC).