Finding Robust Solutions in Requirements Models

Abstract

Solutions to non-linear requirements engineering problems may be "brittle"; i.e. small changes may dramatically alter solution effectiveness. Hence, it is not enough to just generate solutions to requirements problems- we must also assess solution robustness. The KEYS2 algorithm can generate decision ordering diagrams. Once generated, these diagrams can assess solution robustness in linear time. In experiments with real-world requirements engineering models, we show that KEYS2 can generate decision ordering diagrams in O(N 2). When assessed in terms of terms of (a) reducing inference times, (b) increasing solution quality, and (c) decreasing the variance of the generated solution, KEYS2 out-performs other search algorithms (simulated annealing, ASTAR, MaxWalkSat).