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Summary: 185
CHAPTER 6
Validation
Practice proves more than theory, in any case.
Abraham Lincoln
While it is easy to propose a method, validation is required before the usefulness of
the method may be determined. Software methods, such as the GoalBased Requirements
Analysis Method, need early validation while under development. The initial case studies
which seek this validation, discussed in Chapter 3, are best characterized as the formative
case studies due to their central role in shaping the method. In contrast, the case studies
discussed in this chapter are best characterized as summative; their primary role in this
thesis is to validate the method developed during the formative case studies.
Validation of the GoalBased Requirements Analysis Method involved three applica
tions of the method:
ffl use of the GBRAM to specify the requirements for tool support, followed by construc
tion of a prototype based on the resulting requirements;
ffl a case study involving a large commercial application and multiple stakeholders to
evaluate the scalability of the method; and
ffl an empirical evaluation whereby use of GBRAM by one group of subjects was com
pared to the use of alternative analysis methods by other subjects.
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