Prototyping conceptual models of real-time systems: a visual perspective

It is suggested that the disparity between the knowledge and background of the individuals who develop software and those who use the developed software should be filled during the requirements engineering process through the use of appropriate techniques and software tools that incorporate a conceptual model of the area of application. The authors describe an experimental requirements engineering environment that has been created to support the rapid prototyping of real-time systems and provides tools for the description of the objects that participate in the conceptual model of a real-time application. Objects have visual representations that resemble their appearance in real life. Animation capabilities support the validation of system behavior by end-users through an interactive, direct-manipulation simulator