From Natural Language Requirements to Executable Models of Software Components

The UniFrame approach to component-based software development assumes that concrete components are developed from a meta-model, called the Unified Meta-component Model, according to standardized domain models. Implicit in this development is the existence of a Platform Independent Model (PIM) that is transformed into a Platform Specific Model (PSM) under the principles of ModelDriven Architecture (MDA). This position paper advocates natural language as the starting point for developing the meta-model and representative domain models. The paper illustrates how natural language is mapped through the PIM to PSM using a formal system of rules expressed in a Two-Level Grammar (TLG). This allows software requirements to be progressed from domain logic to the implementation of components. The approach provides sufficient automation such that components may be modified at the model level, or even the natural language requirements level, as opposed to the code level.