Required Attributes in the SRC Exchange Process

Required Attribute Definitions

There are a number of ReqIF attributes that participate in the SRC (Stakeholder Request Clarification) Exchange Process. They are shown in the following table.

 

 

Generic Name	Optional	Default longName
Requirement Text	No	ReqIF.Text
Requirement Type	Yes	ReqIF-WF.Type
Customer Status	No	ReqIF-WF.CustomerStatus
Customer Comment	No	ReqIF-WF.CustomerComment
Supplier Status	No	ReqIF-WF.SupplierStatus
Supplier Comment	No	ReqIF-WF.SupplierComment

 

 

ReqIF.Text

This is the longName of the attribute that contains the requirement text. The requirement text is the subject of the evaluation process - the aim of which is for the supplier to perform evaluation of the requirement and ultimately provide a response in the Supplier Attributes.

 

ReqIF-WF.Type (optional)

This is an enumeration attribute which contains a value that serves to identify the purpose of the requirement. For tools that are not able to represent multiple requirement types (SpecObjectTypes), this attribute is helpful to distinguish, for example, a requirement from a heading. For any SpecObject that contains a value for this attribute that is not 'Requirement', it is not expected for a supplier to perform any evaluation.

 

ReqIF-WF.CustomerStatus

This is an enumeration attribute that defines the workflow state of the requirement from the point of view of the customer. Its value is strictly controlled by workflow rules.

 

ReqIF-WF.CustomerComment

This is an attribute that is owned by the customer. It is an additional attribute to the ReqIF-WF.CustomerStatus attribute and its purpose is to provide extra meaning or context. In many cases it it optional. However, there are circumstances when it is expected to be specified. For example, to provide a response to a supplier when the Supplier Status is set to 'ToBeClarified'.

 

ReqIF-WF.SupplierStatus

This is an enumeration attribute that defines the workflow state of the requirement from the point of view of the supplier. Its value is strictly controlled by workflow rules.

 

ReqIF-WF.SupplierComment

This is an attribute that is owned by the participant playing the role of the supplier. It is an additional attribute to the ReqIF-WF.SupplierStatus attribute and its purpose is to provide extra meaning or context. In many cases it it optional. However, there are circumstances when it is expected to be specified. For example, to provide additional information to the customer when the Supplier Status has been set to 'AgreedWithComment'.

 

 

Generic Naming Terminology 

The required attribute names specified in the above table in the Default longName column are the recommended names. To support this use case you are free to choose any other name that is supported by your requirements management tool. For this reason, REQIFtoolkit uses generic naming terminology to identify the required attributes. Your actual attribute names can be different from the recommended names.

Assigning Required Attributes to SpecObjectTypes

The required attributes must be defined for each requirement SpecObjectType that is to be used in the Exchange Process. If a requirements management tool supports only one SpecObjectType, then this type must include definitions of all required attributes. Other tools can support multiple SpecObjectTypes and in those cases, SpecObjectTypes defined for elements that will not require a supplier response, e.g., headings and informational paragraphs, do not need to include the required attribute definitions.

 

Exchange Process Requirements

An Exchange Process Requirement is one that participates in an Exchange Process. This means such requirements will have required attributes that must be set in accordance with the rules of the Exchange Process.

For tools that only support one SpecObjectType and where for this SpecObjectType, the ReqIF-WF.Type attribute is defined, an Exchange Process Requirement is any SpecObject which has the value of the ReqIF-WF.Type attribute set to 'Requirement'. If no ReqIF-WF.Type attribute is defined, all requirements are assumed to be Exchange Process Requirements.

For tools that support multiple SpecObjectTypes, an Exchange Process Requirement is any SpecObject of any SpecObjectType that has the Exchange Process attributes defined. Additionally, for SpecObjectTypes that have the ReqIF-WF.Type attribute defined, the same rules apply as for the single SpecObjectType case above.