eJournal: uffmm.org,
ISSN 2567-6458, 24.Januar 2019
Email: info@uffmm.org
Author: Gerd Doeben-Henisch
Email: gerd@doeben-henisch.de
CONTEXT
An overview to the enhanced AAI theory version 2 you can find here. In this post we talk about the second chapter where you have to define the context of the problem, which should be analyzed.
DEFINING THE CONTEXT OF PROBLEM P
- A defined problem P identifies at least one property associated with a configuration which has a lower level x than a value y inferred by an accepted standard E.
- The property P is always part of some environment ENV which interacts with the problem P.
- To approach an improved configuration S measured by some standard E starting with a problem P one needs a process characterized by a set of necessary states Q which are connected by necessary changes X.
- Such a process can be described by an actor story AS.
- All properties which belong to the whole actor story and therefore have to be satisfied by every state q of the actor story are called non-functional process requirements (NFPRs). If required properties are are associate with only one state but for the whole state, then these requirements are called non-functional state requirements (NFSRs).
- An actor story can include many different sequences, where every sequence is called a path PTH. A finite set of paths can represent a task T which has to be fulfilled. Within the environment of the defined problem P it mus be possible to identify at least one task T to be realized from some start state to some goal state. The realization of a task T is assumed to be ‘driven’ by input-output-systems which are called actors A.
- Additionally it mus be possible to identify at least one executing actor A_exec doing a task and at least one actor assisting A_ass the executing actor to fulfill the task.
- A state q represents all needed actors as part of the associated environment ENV. Therefore a state q can be analyzed as a network of elements interacting with each other. But this is only one possible structure for an analysis besides others.
- For the analysis of a possible solution one can distinguish at least two overall strategies:
- Top-down: There exists a group of experts EXPs which will analyze a possible solution, will test these, and then will propose these as a solution for others.
- Bottom-up: There exists a group of experts EXPs too but additionally there exists a group of customers CTMs which will be guided by the experts to use their own experience to find a possible solution.
EXAMPLE
The mayor of a city has identified as a problem the relationship between the actual population number POP, the amount of actual available living space LSP0, and the amount of recommended living space LSPr by some standard E. The population of his city is steadily interacting with populations in the environment: citizens are moving into the environment MIGR- and citizens from the environment are arriving MIGR+. The population, the city as well as the environment can be characterized by a set of parameters <P1, …, Pn> called a configuration which represents a certain state q at a certain point of time t. To convert the actual configuration called a start state q0 to a new configuration S called a goal state q+ with better values requires the application of a defined set of changes Xs which change the start state q0 stepwise into a sequence of states qi which finally will end up in the desired goal state q+. A description of all these states necessary for the conversion of the start state q0 into the goal state q+ is called here an actor story AS. Because a democratic elected mayor of the city wants to be ‘liked’ by his citizens he will require that this conversion process should end up in a goal state which is ‘not harmful’ for his citizens, which should support a ‘secure’ and ‘safety’ environment, ‘good transportation’ and things like that. This illustrates non-functional state requirements (NFSRs). Because the mayor wants also not to much trouble during the conversion process he will also require some limits for the whole conversion process, this is for the whole actor story. This illustrates non-functional process requirements (NFPRs). To realize the intended conversion process the mayor needs several executing actors which are doing the job and several other assistive actors helping the executing actors. To be able to use the available time and resources ‘effectively’ the executing actors need defined tasks which have to be realized to come from one state to the next. Often there are more than one sequences of states possible either alternatively or in parallel. A certain state at a certain point of time t can be viewed as a network where all participating actors are in many ways connected with each other, interacting in several ways and thereby influencing each other. This realizes different kinds of communications with different kinds of contents and allows the exchange of material and can imply the change of the environment. Until today the mayors of cities use as their preferred strategy to realize conversion processes selected small teams of experts doing their job in a top-down manner leaving the citizens more or less untouched, at least without a serious participation in the whole process. From now on it is possible and desirable to twist the strategy from top-down to bottom up. This implies that the selected experts enable a broad communication with potentially all citizens which are touched by a conversion and including the knowledge, experience, skills, visions etc. of these citizens by applying new methods possible in the new digital age.