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An Approach to Use Comic Strips To Support IoT Systems Requirements Engineering

The term Internet of Things (IoT) describes an environment where billions of objects, restricted in resources, use the Internet as an infrastructure for exchanging messages. In the IoT system, a set of heterogeneous devices such as sensors, actuators, energy sources, and processors are fundamental for the interaction between objects. The construction of these systems demands the professionals’ knowledge in identifying, analyzing, and specifying the requirements that impact the system quality. However, there are challenges in developing these systems because the different perceptions of stakeholders and the different use of computing resources can cause errors in requirements gathering and lead to ambiguities in developing IoT systems. In addition, its characteristics and its large number of elements tend to increase the complexity of its configuration. Therefore, it is necessary to develop techniques to promote effective communication between the stakeholders, regardless of their areas of knowledge, to establish, define and clarify the requirements. This work proposes comic strips (CS) for defining and gathering requirements for IoT systems. The first set of non-functional requirements for IoT systems was identified in the literature, such as maintainability, security, integration, and performance. We developed a syntax for building comics to assist in the definition and requirements gathering of IoT systems from this set. We conducted a feasibility study using informal, formal, and technical workshops with professionals and users to identify the potential for continuity of this proposal. In addition, this discussion was carried out with undergraduate students who could participate in the process, improving their knowledge in requirements engineering. The students could identify divergence among interests and concepts from stakeholders and propose adequated solutions during requirements elicitation. The results obtained from an established comic were positive and promoted communication between stakeholders. This work’s contribution approaches the grammar for defining IoT systems in comics and an effective interaction method.