An XML Based Methodology to Model and Use Scenarios in the Software Development Process

In this paper we present SMDP (Scenario Model Development Process), an XML-based methodology for the description and manipulation of scenarios that are used to formalize and reuse software requirements. SMDP is an iterative and incremental process that supports scenario evolution during the requirements engineering process. The formalization of scenarios through the underlying XML-based language of SMDP makes them immediately available to further automatic manipulation (e.g., to automatically generate test cases) without the need for intermediate models, as it is usually done in semi-formal approaches. Thanks to the implementation of a software assistant environment for SMDP, the methodology is currently being experimented on a variety of case studies, in particular web applications.