Software Reqiuirements and Specifications is the latest book from Michael Jackson, one of the foremost contributors to software development method and practice. The book brings together some 75 short pieces about principles and techniques for requirements analysis, specification and design.

The ideas discussed are deep, but at the same time lightly and wittily expressed. The book is fun to read, rewarding the reader with many valuble and novel insights. Some sacred cows, including top-down development, dataflow diagrams and the distinction between What and How, are led to the slaughter. Readers will be provoked--perhaps to fury, perhaps to enthusiasm, but surely to think more deeply about topics and issues of central importance in the field of software development.

There are new ideas about problem structuring, based on the concept of a problem frame, leading to a clearer notion of complexity and how to deal with it. And other important topics include:

• Principles for evaluating development methods
• New approaches to capturing and describing requirements and specifications, based on the relationship between the software system and the problem context
• The technology of desciption in software, including new ideas such as designations, the separation of descriptive moods and the scope and span of description
• Incisive information about the proper role of mathematics and formalism.

0201877120B04062001

Aims to give practising software developers and engineers a series of practical insights into the world of software development and system design. The text is arranged as an alphabetically-ordered set of short pieces, forming a lexicon.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 211-217) and index.

Michael Jackson has worked in software for over thirty years, during which time he has been involved in all aspects of program and system development. In 1971 he started his own company offering courses, project support and tools for software developers. He now works as an independent consultant in London, and works part time in software development at AT&T Research in New Jersey. He played the leading role in developing the JSP and JSD methods of program and system develpment.

0201877120AB04062001

Foreword by Jon Bentley.

Preface.

Acknowledgements.

Introduction.

A.

Ambiguity.

The Application Domain.

Arboricide.

Aspects of Software Development.

B.

The Bridges of Königsberg.

Brilliance.

C.

The Calendar.

Classification.

Composition.

Connection Domains.

Connection Frames.

Context Diagrams.

Critical Reading.

D.

Dataflow Diagrams--1.

Dataflow Diagrams--2.

Definitions.

Dekker.

Descriptions.

Designations.

Deskilling.

Domain Characteristics.

Domain Interactions.

Domains.

E.

Entity­Relation Span.

Events and Intervals.

Existence.

F.

Frame Diagrams.

The Fudge Factor.

G.

Graphic Notations.

H.

Hierarchical Structure.

I.

Identity.

Implementation Bias.

Individuals.

Informal Domains.

Is.

J.

JSP Frame.

L.

Logical Positivism.

M.

Machines.

Mathematics.

Method.

Misfits.

Models.

Mood.

A Multi-Frame Problem--1.

A Multi-Frame Problem--2.

N.

The Narrow Bridge.

O.

Object-Oriented Analysis.

P.

The Package Router Problem.

Partial Descriptions.

Phenomena.

Poetry.

Polya.

Predicate Logic.

Problem Complexity.

The Problem Context.

Problem Frames.

Problem Sensitivity.

Procrustes.

R.

Raw Materials.

Refutable Descriptions.

Reification.

Requirements.

Restaurants.

Rough Sketches.

S.

Scope of Description.

Shared Phenomena.

Simple Control Frame.

Simple IS Frame.

Software.

Software Engineering.

Span of Description.

Specifications.

T.

Top-Down.

Tree Diagrams.

Trip-lets.

W.

What and How.

Bibliography.

Index.