Generating scenarios from use case map specifications

The use case map (UCM) notation is being standardized as part of the user requirements notation (URN), the most recent addition to ITU-T's family of languages. UCM models describe functional requirements and high-level designs with causal paths superimposed on a structure of components. The generation of individual scenarios from UCM specifications enables the validation of requirements and facilitates the transition from requirements to design. In this paper, we address the challenges faced during the automated generation of such scenarios. Scenario definitions and traversal algorithms are first used to extract individual scenarios from UCMs and to store them as XML files. Transformations to other scenario languages (for instance, message sequence charts) are then achieved using XSLT. Possible applications of this two-step generation process include early validation and synthesis of design models. Illustrative examples are given based on our current tools and recent experiments.