A Practical Approach to Requirements Reuse in Product Families of On-Board Systems

Requirements reuse has become one of the most challenging topics in the Requirements Engineering (RE) field over the last years. Tangible solutions are needed to address the practicalities. This paper aims to show how such a solution can be integrated into a well-known RE tool. An add-in was created to ensure the coherency of reused specifications within the product family (PF) and to allow their evolution in future programs of the PF. This paper also presents the experience gained in the creation of PF specifications in military aircraft on-board systems for tactical missions. This kind of system typically reuses components associated with a standard set of sensors capturing real-time battlefield information. A reuse model and genuine data regarding savings are provided to illustrate the economic benefits derived from the systematic reuse of requirements. Inferred potential additional savings from the reuse of testing procedures and design elements are also outlined.