RiSD: a methodology for building i* strategic dependency models

Abstract

Goal-oriented models have become a consolidated type of artefact in various software and knowledge engineering activities. Several languages exist for representing such type of models but there is a lack of associated methodologies for guiding their construction up to the necessary level of detail. In this paper we present RiSD, a methodology for building Strategic Dependency (SD) models in the i* notation. RiSD is defined in a prescriptive way to reduce uncertainness when constructing the model. RiSD also tackles two fundamental issues: on the one hand, it tends to reduce the average size of the resulting models and, on the other hand, it allows including some traceability relationships in the resulting models. As a result, we may say that RiSD increases the understandability of goal-oriented models whilst improving all construction.