Scenario presentation tool

• US 6,205,575 B1
• Filed: 08/04/1997
• Issued: 03/20/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 04/18/1995
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Siemens Corp. (Siemens AG)
• Original Assignee: Siemens Corporate Research Incorporated (Siemens AG)
• Inventors: Sherman, William, Liao, Wen-Pao, Klinger, Marina
• Primary Examiner(s): Chaki, Kakali
• Application Number:
  US08/905,865
• Time in Patent Office: 1,324 Days
• Field of Search: 395/701, 395/702, 395/919, 395/949, 395/967, 395/703, 364/489, 345/949, 345/967, 345/919, 717/1, 717/2, 717/3, 717/4
• US Class Current: 717/100
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/10 Requirements analysis; Specification techniques
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 715/967 Visual or iconic programming

Abstract

A scenario presentation tool or system provides for the definition, maintenance, and presentation of scenarios. The scenarios comprise a series of steps representing the dynamic behavior of a system. The tool utilizes a system description and includes arrangements for reading and presenting the system description and an arrangement for selecting elements from the system description and for facilitating the definition, maintenance, and presentation of scenarios. The method comprises the steps of defining a sequence of steps by selecting elements from the system description in accordance with a predetermined syntax and saving the steps with sufficient information to reproduce the scenarios.

Claims

1. A scenario presentation method for use in software development for the definition, maintenance, and presentation of scenarios, said scenarios comprising a series of steps representing the dynamic behavior of a system, said method comprising the steps of:

utilizing a system description comprising a hierarchy of purely symbolic data flow diagrams with the data representing software subsystems so that said data flow diagrams represent a functional decomposition of said system, wherein said data flow is in purely symbolic form;

reading and presenting the system description,

defining software elements from the system description for facilitating the definition, maintenance, and presentation of scenarios;

defining a sequence of steps by defining software elements from said system description as represented by selecting software elements on said data flow diagrams in accordance with a predetermined syntax; and

saving said steps with sufficient information to reproduce the scenarios.

2. A scenario presentation method as set forth in claim 1 wherein said system description comprises an object model of the type utilized in object oriented analysis and including means for reading and displaying such object information and selecting elements therefrom, said object model representing the result of an object oriented analysis of said system, wherein said sequence of steps is defined by selecting and defining software elements from said model in accordance with a predetermined syntax and said steps are saved with sufficient information to reproduce the scenarios in the event the model has changed.

3. A scenario presentation method as set forth in claim 2 wherein, when a scenario is at least in part defined, including a step of sequential animation wherein said steps are animated sequentially by way of a graphical technique.

4. A scenario presentation method as set forth in claim 3 wherein said animation step includes the presentation of a pertinent textual annotation.

5. A scenario presentation method as set forth in claim 3 wherein said animation step includes the presentation of a pertinent voice annotation.

6. A scenario presentation method as set forth in claim 3 wherein said sequential animation is synchronized with said pertinent voice annotation.

7. A scenario presentation method as set forth in claim 3 wherein said sequential animation is synchronized with said pertinent voice annotation such that animation of a step does not begin until completion of the voice annotation pertaining to the preceding step.

8. A scenario presentation method in accordance with claim 3 wherein said animation occurs in single steps subject to user control.

9. A scenario presentation method in accordance with claim 3 wherein said animation occurs in a continuous mode.

10. A scenario presentation method in accordance with claim 3 wherein said chosen scenario is displayed as a message sequence chart.

11. A scenario presentation method as set forth in claim 2, wherein said scenario comprises a header, diagram information and a step list.

12. A scenario presentation method as set forth in claim 11, wherein said scenario comprises a requirements list and a columns list.

13. A scenario presentation method as set forth in claim 12, wherein said header comprises a scenario name, a filename version, textual annotation or description, a methodology, a viewform, an initial state a voice annotation or soundfile.

14. A scenario presentation method as set forth in claim 12 wherein said columns list comprises an object and an initial state for said object.

15. A scenario presentation method as set forth in claim 12 wherein said Requirements list comprises a name and a description.

16. A scenario presentation method as set forth in claim 11 wherein said diagram information comprises a model, a diagram ids, diagram names, elements, element types, positions, sizes, names, instance numbers, ids, and flow direction.

17. A scenario presentation method as set forth in claim 11 wherein said Step list diagram source object destination object, a method invocation on the destination.

18. A scenario presentation method as set forth in claim 1 wherein said system description comprises a hierarchy of data flow diagrams of the type utilized in structured analysis and structured design, and including means for reading and displaying such data flow diagrams and selecting elements thereon, for facilitating the definition, maintenance, and presentation of scenarios, said data flow diagrams representing a functional decomposition of said system, wherein said sequence of steps is defined by selecting elements on said data flow diagams in accordance with a predetermined syntax and said steps are saved with sufficient information to reproduce the scenarios in the event the data flow diagrams are missing, at least in part.

19. A scenario presentation system as set forth in claim 18 and including a browse mode, wherein said definition comprises the following steps:

upon selection by a user of one of New Scenario and Define steps, said system leaves said browse mode and enters a Define steps mode, said system at this point awaiting said user to select one of a source node and a flow;

selection of a unidirectional flow being sufficient to define a step because it is unambiguous and it connects two nodes to each other;

upon selection of a bidirectional flow, this being an ambiguous state requiring a definition of which one of said nodes is the destination, said system awaits a destination node; and

upon receiving an invalid entry, issues a complaint signal.

20. A scenario presentation system as set forth in claim 19 wherein said definition comprises the following steps:

upon selection by a user of one of New Scenario and Browse modes, said system transitions from Browse mode to a Define steps mode;

upon selection of a source column by the user, said system awaits selection of a destination column;

upon selection of an invalid column while waiting for destination, said system will issue a complaint message;

upon selection of a valid column, said system presents for selection all legal connections, since this is on a SASD data flow, all the legal connections can be presented for selection; and

in the event of only one single valid connection being possible, said system provides it automatically and the step is defined.

21. A scenario presentation method as set forth in claim 18 wherein a step conveys information from a source node to a destination node by way of data flow, wherein said step of saving includes storing diagrammatic information on said source node, said destination node, and said data flow.

22. A scenario presentation method as set forth in claim 21 wherein said diagrammatic information includes name, position, and type information on said nodes and data flow, with directionality information.

23. A scenario presentation method as set forth in claim 18 including a step of conveying information from a source node to a destination node by way of data flow, wherein said information includes any of a value, a data type, and a symbolic reference.

24. A scenario presentation method as set forth in claim 18 insluding a step of conveying information from a source node to a destination node by way of data flow, wherein said information includes any of a voice annotation, textual annotation, and state change information.

25. A scenario presentation method as set forth in claim 18, wherein said scenario comprises a header, diagram information and a step list.

26. A scenario presentation method as set forth in claim 25, wherein said scenario comprises a requirements list and a columns list.

27. A scenario presentation method as set forth in claim 26, wherein said header comprises a scenario name, a filename version, textual annotation or description, a methodology, a viewform, an initial state a voice annotation or soundfile.

28. A scenario presentation method as set forth in claim 26 wherein said columns list comprises a diagram and a node.

29. A scenario presentation method as set forth in claim 28 wherein said definition comprises the following steps:

upon selection by a user of one of New Scenario and Browse modes, said system transitions from Browse mode to a Define steps mode;

upon selection of a source column by the user, said system awaits selection of a destination column;

upon selection of an invalid column while waiting for destination, said system will issue a complaint message;

upon selection of a valid column, said system presents for selection all legal connections, since this is on a SASD data flow, all the legal connections can be presented for selection; and

in the event of only one single valid connection being possible, said system provides it automatically and the step is defined.

30. A scenario presentation method as set forth in claim 26 wherein said Requirements list comprises a name and a description.

31. A scenario presentation method as set forth in claim 25 wherein said diagram information comprises a model, a diagram ids, diagram names, elements, element types, positions, sizes, names, instance numbers, ids, and flow direction.

32. A scenario presentation method as set forth in claim 25 wherein said diagram information comprises model column information (MSC) saved in the order it was last displayed, column names, column positions, rows saved as flows in sequence from top to bottom, names, positions, directions, source, and destination.

33. A scenario presentation method as set forth in claim 25 wherein said Step list comprises a diagram, a source node, a flow id, a destination node, an id value, a description, a state, a state scope, and a soundfile.

34. A scenario presentation method as set forth in claim 25 wherein said Step list comprises a diagram, a source object, a destination object, and a method invocation on the destination.

56. A scenario presentation method as set forth in claim 30, including the step of generating a textual transcript of said scenario.

57. A scenario presentation method as set forth in claim 1, including the step of generating a textual transcript of said scenario.

35. A scenario presentation method for use in software development for the definition, maintenance, and presentation of scenarios, said scenarios comprising a series of steps representing the dynamic behavior of a system, said method comprising the steps of:

utilizing a hierarchy of purely symbolic data flow diagrams and means for reading and displaying data flow diagrams, with the data representing software subsystems so that said data flow diagrams represent a functional decomposition of said system, wherein said data flow is in purly symbolic form;

selecting elements on said data flow diagrams for facilitating the definition, maintenance, and presentation of scenarios, said data flow diagrams representing a functional decomposition of said system;

defining a sequence of steps by selecting and defining software elements as represented by selecting software elements on said data flow diagrams in accordance with a predetermined syntax; and

saving said steps with sufficient information to reproduce the scenarios in the event the data flow diagrams are missing, at least in part.

36. A scenario presentation method as set forth in claim 35 and including a browse mode, wherein said definition comprises the following steps:

upon selection by a user of one of New Scenario and Define steps, said system leaves said browse mode and enters a Define steps mode, said system at this point awaiting said user to select one of a source node and a flow;

selection of a unidirectional flow being sufficient to define a step because it is unambiguous and it connects two nodes to each other;

upon selection of a bidirectional flow, this being an ambiguous state requiring a definition of which one of said nodes is the destination, said system awaits a destination node; and

upon receiving an invalid entry, issues a complaint signal.

37. A scenario presentation method as set forth in claim 35 wherein a step conveys information from a source node to a destination node by way of data flow, wherein said step of saving includes storing diagrammatic information on said source node, said destination node, and said data flow.

38. A scenario presentation method as set forth in claim 35 wherein said diagrammatic information includes name, position, and type information on said nodes and data flow, with directionality information.

39. A scenario presentation method as set forth in claim 38, wherein said scenario comprises a requirements list and a columns list.

40. A scenario presentation method as set forth in claim 38, wherein said header comprises a scenario name, a filename version, textual annotation or description, a methodology, a viewform, an initial state a voice annotation or soundfile.

41. A scenario presentation method as set forth in claim 38 wherein said diagram information comprises a model, a diagram ids, diagram names, elements, element types, positions, sizes, names, instance numbers, ids, and flow direction.

42. A scenario presentation method as set forth in claim 38 wherein said diagram information comprises model column information (MSC) saved in the order it was last displayed, column names, column positions, rows saved as flows in sequence from top to bottom, names, positions, directions, source, and destination.

43. A scenario presentation method as set forth in claim 38 wherein said Step list comprises a diagram, a source node, a flow id, a destination node, an id value, a description, a state, a state scope, and a soundfile.

44. A scenario presentation method as set forth in claim 38 wherein said Step list comprises a diagram, a source object, a destination object, and a method invocation on the destination.

45. A scenario presentation method as set forth in claim 35 including a step of conveying information from a source node to a destination node by way of data flow, wherein said information includes any of a value, a data type, and a symbolic reference.

46. A scenario presentation method as set forth in claim 45 wherein said columns list comprises a diagram and a node.

47. A scenario presentation method as set forth in claim 45 wherein said Requirements list comprises a name and a description.

48. A scenario presentation method as set forth in claim 46 wherein said animation step includes the presentation of a pertinent textual annotation.

49. A scenario presentation method as set forth in claim 46 wherein said animation step includes the presentation of a pertinent voice annotation.

50. A scenario presentation method as set forth in claim 49, wherein said header comprises a scenario name, a filename version, textual annotation or description, a methodology, a viewform, an initial state a voice annotation or soundfile.

51. A scenario presentation method as set forth in claim 49 wherein said diagram information comprises a model, a diagram ids, diagram names, elements, element types, positions, sizes, names, instance numbers, ids, and flow direction.

52. A scenario presentation method as set forth in claim 49 wherein said Step list diagram source object destination object, a method invocation on the destination.

53. A scenario presentation method as set forth in claim 46 wherein said sequential animation is synchronized with said pertinent voice annotation.

54. A scenario presentation method as set forth in claim 53 wherein said columns list comprises an object and an initial state for said object.

55. A scenario presentation method as set forth in claim 54 wherein said Requirements list comprises a name and a description.

58. A scenario presentation method as set forth in claim 35 insluding a step of conveying information from a source node to a destination node by way of data flow, wherein said information includes any of a voice annotation, textual annotation, and state change information.

59. A scenario presentation method as set forth in claim 35, wherein said scenario comprises a header, diagram information and a step list.

65. A scenario presentation method as set forth in claim 46 wherein said sequential animation is synchronized with said pertinent voice annotation such that animation of a step does not begin until completion of the voice annotation pertaining to the preceding step.

60. A scenario presentation method for use in software development for the definition, maintenance, and presentation of scenarios, said scenarios comprising a series of steps representing the dynamic behavior of a system, said method comprising the steps of:

utilizing a hierarchy of purely symbolic data flow diagrams, with the data representing software subsystems so that said data flow diagrams represent a functional decomposition of said system, wherein said data flow is in purly symbolic form;

reading and displaying such data flow diagrams;

selecting elements on said data flow diagrams for facilitating the definition, maintenance, and presentation of scenarios, said data flow diagrams representing a functional decomposition of said system;

defining a sequence of steps by defining software elements, as represented by selecting software elements on said data flow diagrams in accordance with a predetermined syntax; and

saving said steps with sufficient information to reproduce the scenarios in the event the data flow diagrams are missing, at least in part.

61. A scenario presentation method as set forth in claim 60 wherein, when a scenario is at least in part defined, including a step of sequential animation wherein said steps are animated sequentially by way of a graphical technique.

62. A scenario presentation method as set forth in claim 60, wherein said scenario comprises a header, diagram information and a step list.

63. A scenario presentation method as set forth in claim 60, wherein said scenario comprises a requirements list and a columns list.

64. A scenario presentation method as set forth in claim 60, including the step of generating a textual transcript of said scenario.