How to properly model system requirements in UML (Sparx Enterprise Architect)

Question

I have a list of system requirements that I have imported from IBM Rational DOORS, and I am curious as to what would be a good way to model their relationships with each other in a diagram. Which Structural diagram should I use, or should it be one of the Behavioral ones?

What I've currently created are links to the requirements in an Object diagram, but I would like to make these Child diagrams that I can link to Class diagrams as well. Does this mean that in order to not create a unique diagram for every class element it's linked to, it should be a composite diagrams the requirements are linked to?

Answer 1

This is probably a too broad question. But here are a few pointers:

• Create two folders inside a Requirements folder: functional and non-functional
• Find some prospective order for the functional requirements that target towards the use cases and create sub-folders in the FR folder.
• Create a rather fixed structure for non-functional Rs like Legal, Performance, Security, etc. (Google will give you some nice lists)
• Functional Rs are related to UCs in first place. What I do is to create a UC context diagram inside the UC (which I make composite for the UC) that has the UC in the middle and the Rs traced to it
• Having R-diagrams inside the R-folders can be handy but is not necessary
• NFRs link to implementation details in a later phase. Where appropriate, a trace to the NFR is set in a context diagram of a class.
• Finally all Rs should have at least one trace relation. You could control that by replacing them with a <<realized>> relation later.

These are only a few points. There are a lot of books dealing with this topic, so don't expect a complete answer here.