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Publications

Publications by Rui Miguel Couto

2016

Validating an Approach to Formalize Use Cases with Ontologies

Authors
Couto, R; Ribeiro, AN; Campos, JC;

Publication
ELECTRONIC PROCEEDINGS IN THEORETICAL COMPUTER SCIENCE

Abstract
Use case driven development methodologies put use cases at the center of the software development process. However, in order to support automated development and analysis, use cases need to be appropriately formalized. This will also help guarantee consistency between requirements specifications and developed solutions. Formal methods tend to suffer from take up issues, as they are usually hard to accept by industry. In this context, it is relevant not only to produce languages and approaches to support formalization, but also to perform their validation. In previous works we have developed an approach to formalize use cases resorting to ontologies. In this paper we present the validation of one such approach. Through a three stage study, we evaluate the acceptance of the language and supporting tool. The first stage focusses on the acceptance of the process and language, the second on the support the tool provides to the process, and finally the third one on the tool's usability aspects. Results show test subjects found the approach feasible and useful and the tool easy to use.

2014

Application of ontologies in identifying requirements patterns in use cases

Authors
Couto, R; Ribeiro, AN; Campos, JC;

Publication
Electronic Proceedings in Theoretical Computer Science, EPTCS

Abstract
Use case specifications have successfully been used for requirements description. They allow joining, in the same modeling space, the expectations of the stakeholders as well as the needs of the software engineer and analyst involved in the process. While use cases are not meant to describe a system's implementation, by formalizing their description we are able to extract implementation relevant information from them. More specifically, we are interested in identifying requirements patterns (common requirements with typical implementation solutions) in support for a requirements based software development approach. In the paper we propose the transformation of Use Case descriptions expressed in a Controlled Natural Language into an ontology expressed in the Web Ontology Language (OWL). OWL's query engines can then be used to identify requirements patterns expressed as queries over the ontology. We describe a tool that we have developed to support the approach and provide an example of usage. © 2014 R. Couto, A.N. Ribeiro & J.C. Campos.

2013

MapIt: A model based pattern recovery tool

Authors
Couto, R; Nestor Ribeiro, A; Creissac Campos, J;

Publication
Lecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics)

Abstract
Design patterns provide a means to reuse proven solutions during development, but also to identify good practices during analysis. These are particularly relevant in complex and critical software, such as is the case of ubiquitous and pervasive systems. Model Driven Engineering (MDE) presents a solution for this problem, with the usage of high level models. As part of an effort to develop approaches to the migration of applications to mobile contexts, this paper reports on a tool that identifies design patterns in source code. Code is transformed into both platform specific and independent models, and from these design patterns are inferred. MapIt, the tool which implements these functionalities is described. © 2013 Springer-Verlag.

2014

A study on the viability of formalizing Use Cases

Authors
Couto, R; Ribeiro, AN; Campos, JC;

Publication
2014 9th International Conference on the Quality of Information and Communications Technology (QUATIC)

Abstract
Use case scenarios are known as powerful means for requirements specification. On the one hand, they join in the same modeling space the expectations of the stakeholders and the needs of the developers involved in the process. On the other hand, they describe the desired high level functionalities. By formalizing these descriptions we are able to extract relevant informations from them. Specifically, we are interested in identifying requirements patterns (common requirements with typical implementation solutions) in support for a requirements based software development approach. This paper addresses the transformation of use case descriptions expressed in a Controller Natural Language into an ontology expressed in the Web Ontology Language (OWL), as well as the query process for such information. It reports on a study aimed at validating our approach and our tool with real users. A preliminary set of results is discussed.

2017

Towards new data management platforms for a DSO as market enabler - UPGRID Portugal demo

Authors
Alonso, A; Couto, R; Pacheco, H; Bessa, R; Gouveia, C; Seca, L; Moreira, J; Nunes, P; Matos, PG; Oliveira, A;

Publication
CIRED - Open Access Proceedings Journal

Abstract
In the framework of the Horizon 2020 project UPGRID, the Portuguese demo is focused on promoting the exchange of smart metering data between the DSO and different stakeholders, guaranteeing neutrality, efficiency and transparency. The platform described in this study, named the Market Hub Platform, has two main objectives: (i) to guarantee neutral data access to all market agents and (ii) to operate as a market hub for the home energy management systems flexibility, in terms of consumption shift under dynamic retailing tariffs and contracted power limitation requests in response to technical problems. The validation results are presented and discussed in terms of scalability, availability and reliability.

2014

The Modelery: A Collaborative Web Based Repository

Authors
Couto, R; Ribeiro, AN; Campos, JC;

Publication
COMPUTATIONAL SCIENCE AND ITS APPLICATIONS, PART VI - ICCSA 2014

Abstract
Software development processes are known to produce a large set of artifacts such as models, code and documentation. Keeping track of these artifacts without supporting tools is not easy, and making them available to others can be even harder. Standard version control systems are not able to solve this issue. More than keeping track of versions, a system to help organize and make artifacts available in meaningful ways is needed. In this paper we review a number of alternative systems, and present the requirements and the implementation of a collaborative web repository which we developed to solve this issue.

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