KBRE: a framework for knowledge-based requirements engineering

Detecting inconsistencies is a critical part of Requirements Engineering (RE) and has been a topic of interest for several decades. Domain knowledge and semantics of requirements not only play important roles in elaborating requirements but are also a crucial way to detect conflicts among them. In this paper we present a novel knowledge-based RE framework (KBRE) in which domain knowledge and semantics of requirements are central to elaboration, structuring, and management of captured requirements. Moreover, we also show how they facilitate the identification of requirements inconsistencies and other related problems. In our KBRE model, Description Logic (DL) is used as the fundamental logical system for requirements analysis and reasoning. In addition, the application of DL in the form of Manchester OWL Syntax brings simplicity to the formalization of requirements while preserving sufficient expressive power. A tool has been developed and applied to an industrial use case to validate our approach.