Recovering Software Design from Interviews Using the NFR Approach: An Experience Report

Box 1

Answers obtained by interviewing a user of the Phoenix system.

(1) Why do you use Phoenix?

Marti is a system of databases and messages to get images from aircraft to ground. The underlying infrastructure is Phoenix and

it controls the dataflow. Data are typically images and CoT (cursor on target) messages; CoT messages are both text and XML.

Phoenix usage is completely transparent; (user) did not know that Phoenix was being used until the code was reviewed.

(2) Before Phoenix was available how did you accomplish these functions?

Marti was never used without Phoenix

(3) How do you use Phoenix? Can you list the steps?

From a user perspective:

(a) On the Falcon View (a PC based mapping application) make a query for an image;

(b) Images are retrieved from Phoenix;

(c) Get the images.

(d) Click to see them on Falcon View

(e) View images or use RouteScout

From the Phoenix perspective:

(a) Add images or CoT messages to Postgres database

(b) No need to specific destination (ports are defined—it is a closed set)

(c) Images/messages sent to a fixed destination

(4) List problems with Phoenix?

No user documentation for Phoenix—a DFD of process to use Phoenix will be useful (especially if it includes data formats).

For Marti even the developer documentation is not there.

The Marti system is dependent on Postgres database—if Postgres fails then whole system fails.