PRODUCT DESCRIPTION
PROCESS DESCRIPTION
INTERACTIONS WITH OTHER ACTIVITIES
Domain Definition is an activity of Domain Analysis for creating a Domain Definition. A Domain Definition is an informal description of the systems and related application engineering work products in the business area that form a domain. A Domain Definition characterizes how systems in the domain, as represented by a set of work products, are similar and how they differ.
The objectives of the Domain Definition Activity are to:
The Domain Definition Activity requires the Domain Plan.
The Domain Definition should be developed by experts with a variety of backgrounds in the domain under study. They need broad domain knowledge. Such knowledge includes what systems have been built, relevant existing work products (requirements specification documents, design documents, etc.), and the nature of systems likely to be requested and built, especially by the targeted project.
The Domain Definition does not answer detailed questions of scope, but clearly includes and excludes broad classes of systems and their associated work products. Assumptions of commonality and exclusion identify the common features of systems and work products in the domain, thereby establishing a family. Assumptions of variability identify how systems and work products in the family are distinguished from one another. Justification provides a basis for judging technical and economic feasibility of the domain to evaluate whether there is sufficient confidence in the viability of supporting work-product reuse by the targeted project for a system in the domain.
Assumptions may also be elaborated with associated, subordinate assumptions. For example, a commonality assumption may have specific variabilities associated with it. Similarly, a particular resolution of a variability assumption can be thought of as characterizing a subfamily of the product family. The subfamily then may have additional, more specific commonalities and variabilities that further distinguish the members of the subfamily.
The Domain Definition Activity consists of the five steps shown in Figure DE.2.1-1. Domain Definition Process.
Follow these steps for the Domain Definition Activity.
Step: Define Domain Informally
Step: Establish Standard
Terminology
Step: Establish Domain Assumptions
Step: Assess Domain Status
Step: Identify Legacy Products
Risk Management
INTERACTIONS WITH OTHER ACTIVITIES
Feedback to Information Sources
Feedback From Product Consumers