The ECO storage depot operates in accordance with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations controlling the storage of environmentally damaging chemicals. The ECO depot is only licensed to store drums of chemicals classified as EPA hazard type 1, type 2, or type 3.
The drums are stored in special storage buildings; in the depot there are also buildings that house scientific and administrative staff. Each storage building is licensed to hold a maximum number of drums. While the EPA requires that type 1 and type 2 must not be stored in the same building, type 3 can be stored with either type 1 or type 2. If either of these regulations is violated, then the EPA will close the depot as unsafe, pending emergency action.
The management has decided to install a computerized system to manage and control the depot. It is their paramount concern that the system never allow the depot to become unsafe.
The ECO management wants to avoid litigation from their employees or the local council. They have introduced a company regulation that requires the depot manager be able to monitor the depot and to always be able to check if the depot is in a vulnerable state. The regulation states that a depot is vulnerable if any two neighboring buildings contain the maximum number of drums.
When a truck arrives at the loading bay, the clerk enters the manifest accompanying the load and checks in the drums one at a time. As each drum is checked in, it is assigned an identifier. Once all the drums have been checked in, any discrepancies between the checked load and the manifest are reported to the loading bay clerk. The system then produces a drum-to-building allocation list that says where each drum is to be stored. The loading bay clerk is notified of any drums that must be returned to the truck because of lack of space.
Drum collections are initiated by the loading bay clerk, who types in an order manifest for the number and type of drums that are required. The system identifies the drums that are to be retrieved from the storage buildings. A manifest for the order is sent to the loading bay clerk.
Since there is only one loading bay, it must be empty before a delivery or collection can begin. It is the clerk's responsibility to notify the system when the bay is empty.
"The ECO storage depot operates in accordance with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations controlling the storage of environmentally damaging chemicals."
| Normalization (verb isolation) | |
| verb: controlling - ing = control | |
| EPA regulations control the storage of environmentally damaging chemicals. | |
| The ECO storage depot operates in accordance with these EPA regulations. | |
| Equivalence (substitution) | |
| phrase: "environmentally damaging" = hazardous | |
| EPA regulations control the storage of hazardous chemicals. | |
| Normalization (prep replacement) | |
| phrase: "the storage of hazardous chemicals" = hazardous chemical storage | |
| EPA regulations control hazardous chemical storage. | |
| Equivalence (substitution) | |
| phrase: "operates in accordance with" = complies with | |
| The ECO storage depot complies with EPA hazardous chemical storage regulations. | |
| Implications | |
| The ECO storage depot is a hazardous chemical storage facility. | |
| The EPA regulates hazardous chemical storage facilities. | |
| The EPA publishes hazardous chemical storage regulations. | |
| Open Questions | |
| How often are the EPA regulations issued and revised? | |
| How are storage facilities notified of regulatory changes? | |
| How will the rules of the depot management system be validated against regulatory changes? | |
"The ECO depot is only licensed to store drums of chemicals classified as EPA hazard type 1, type 2, or type 3."
| Normalization (verb isolation) | |
| verb: "licensed to store" = stores | |
| The ECO depot stores drums. | |
| Normalizations (hidden verb, singular subject) | |
| prep: "drums of chemicals" = contain | |
| Drums contain hazardous chemicals. | |
| A (hazardous chemical storage) drum contains a hazardous chemical. | |
| Normalization (verb isolation) | |
| verb: "chemicals classified" = classifies | |
| The EPA classifies hazardous chemicals with EPA hazard types. | |
| Equivalence (nominalization) | |
| verb: "licensed to store" = storage license | |
| The EPA issues a storage license to a storage facility. | |
| Implications | |
| An EPA hazard type describes a hazardous chemical. | |
| EPA hazard types = type 1, type 2, type 3. | |
| A storage facility stores drums (containing hazardous chemicals). | |
| A storage license permits storage of specific chemical types. | |
| Open Questions | |
| How often does the EPA renew the licenses? Quarterly? Annually? | |
| What are the renewal criteria? Physical inspection and certification? | |
| Does ECO want to store more types of hazardous chemicals? | |
| How would it qualify? Three years of continuous safety certifications? | |
| Can a storage license be revoked? What are the consequences? | |
"The drums are stored in special storage buildings; in the depot there are also buildings that house scientific and administrative staff."
| Normalizations (verb isolation, active verb, singular subject) | |
| verb: "drums are stored" = stores | |
| Special storage buildings store drums. | |
| A storage building stores (some) drums. | |
| Normalizations (verb isolation, singular subject) | |
| Staff buildings house scientific and administrative staff. | |
| A staff building houses (some) staff members. | |
| Implications | |
| The ECO depot contains both storage buildings and staff buildings. | |
"Each storage building is licensed to hold a maximum number of drums."
| Normalization (verb isolation, active verb) | |
| verb: "licensed to hold" = stores | |
| Each storage building stores (some) drums. | |
| Equivalence (nominalization) | |
| verb: "licensed to hold" = storage license | |
| The EPA issues a storage license for each storage building. | |
| Each storage building has a drum storage license. | |
| Implications | |
| Each drum storage license limits a storage building drum count. | |
| Each storage building has a drum storage limit. | |
"While the EPA requires that type 1 and type 2 must not be stored in the same building, type 3 can be stored with either type 1 or type 2. If either of these regulations is violated, then the EPA will close the depot as unsafe, pending emergency action."
| Equivalence (nominalizations) | |
| adjective: unsafe - un + ty = safety | |
| noun: regulations - s + safety = safety regulation | |
| verb: requires - s + ment = requirement + safety = safety requirement | |
| verb: complies - s + ance = compliance + safety = safety compliance | |
| verb: violated - ed + ion = violation + safety = safety violation | |
| Normalization (active verb) | |
| verb: "stored" = stores | |
| A building stores type 1, type 2, or type 3. | |
| Implications | |
| The EPA publishes safety regulations. | |
| A safety regulation defines safety compliance. | |
| A safety regulation defines safety violation. | |
| safety compliance exists if ... a building that stores type 3 also stores type 1. | |
| safety compliance exists if ... a building that stores type 3 also stores type 2. | |
| safety violation exists if ... a building that stores type 1 also stores type 2. | |
| Normalization (verb isolation) | |
| The EPA will close the depot if ... a safety violation occurs. | |
| Implications | |
| The EPA will reopen the depot only after it restores safety compliance. | |
| Reopening the depot requires emergency action. | |
"The management has decided to install a computerized system to manage and control the depot. It is their paramount concern that the system never allow the depot to become unsafe."
"The ECO management wants to avoid litigation from their employees or the local council. They have introduced a company regulation that requires the depot manager be able to monitor the depot and to always be able to check if the depot is in a vulnerable state. The regulation states that a depot is vulnerable if any two neighboring buildings contain the maximum number of drums."
| Equivalence (nominalization) | |
| verb: manage + ment = management + system + depot = depot management system | |
| Equivalence (substitutions) | |
| verb: "never allow" = prevents | |
| adjective: "become unsafe" = safety violation | |
| Mission Statement + Motivation | |
| The depot management system prevents a safety violation. | |
| The ECO management wants to avoid litigation. | |
| Normalization (verb isolation) | |
| The ECO management introduced a company regulation. | |
| A company regulation requires that a depot manager monitor the depot. | |
| A depot manager monitors whether the depot is in a vulnerable state. | |
| Equivalence (nominalization) | |
| adjective: vulnerable + ility = vulnerability | |
| A depot manager monitors the depot for vulnerability. | |
| A company regulation requires depot monitoring. | |
| Equivalence (description) | |
| "building contains the maximum number of drums" = full storage building = | |
| storage building drum count equals building drum storage limit | |
| The depot is vulnerable if ... any two neighboring storage buildings are full. | |
| A storage building neighbors another (storage building). | |
"When a truck arrives at the loading bay, the clerk enters the manifest accompanying the load and checks in the drums one at a time. As each drum is checked in, it is assigned an identifier."
| Normalization (verb isolation, subject identification) | |
| A truck arrives at the loading bay. | |
| A delivery manifest accompanies a drum load. | |
| A loading bay clerk enters a delivery manifest into the system. | |
| A loading bay clerk checks each drum from a drum load. | |
| Normalization (active verb) | |
| verb: "is assigned" = assigns | |
| The system assigns a drum identifier to each drum. | |
| A drum identifier identifies a drum. | |
| Implications | |
| The ECO depot contains a loading bay. | |
| A truck delivers a drum load to the loading bay. | |
| A drum load contains drums. | |
"Once all the drums have been checked in, any discrepancies between the checked load and the manifest are reported to the loading bay clerk. The system then produces a drum-to-building allocation list that says where each drum is to be stored. The loading bay clerk is notified of any drums that must be returned to the truck because of lack of space."
| Normalization (verb isolation, subject identification) | |
| A loading bay clerk checks all the drums. | |
| The system reports any discrepancies to a loading bay clerk. | |
| The system produces a drum-to-building allocation list. | |
| A drum-to-building allocation list says where to store each drum. | |
| The system notifies a loading bay clerk of any returned drums. | |
| Implications | |
| A loading bay clerk notifies the system of a checked drum load. | |
| The system produces a discrepancy report for a loading bay clerk. | |
| The system produces a drum allocation report for a loading bay clerk. | |
| A drum allocation report lists the drum storage allocations for a drum load. | |
| A drum storage allocation identifies the storage building for each accepted drum. | |
| The system allocates (some) drums to a storage building. | |
| The system produces a returned drum report for a loading bay clerk. | |
"Drum collections are initiated by the loading bay clerk, who types in an order manifest for the number and type of drums that are required. The system identifies the drums that are to be retrieved from the storage buildings. A manifest for the order is sent to the loading bay clerk."
| Normalization (verb isolation, subject identification) | |
| A loading bay clerk initiates drum collections. | |
| A loading bay clerk types an order manifest. | |
| The system identifies the drums to be retrieved from the storage buildings. | |
| The system sends an order manifest to a loading bay clerk. | |
| Implications | |
| A loading bay clerk enters a collection order into the system. | |
| A collection order lists a drum count for each hazard type. | |
| The system produces a collection manifest for a loading bay clerk. | |
| A collection manifest lists the drum locations. | |
| A drum location identifies the storage building for each drum in a collection. | |
| A building identifier locates (some) drums. | |
"Since there is only one loading bay, it must be empty before a delivery or collection can begin. It is the clerk's responsibility to notify the system when the bay is empty."
| Normalization (active verb isolation, subject identification) | |
| The ECO depot contains only one loading bay. | |
| The loading bay must be empty before a delivery can begin. | |
| The loading bay must be empty before a collection can begin. | |
| A loading bay clerk must notify the system when the loading bay is empty. | |
| Normalization (preconditions) | |
| A drum delivery can begin only if ... the loading bay is empty. | |
| A drum collection can begin only if ... the loading bay is empty. | |
| Normalization (active verb) | |
| A loading bay clerk notifies the system when ... the loading bay is empty. | |
There are several holes evident in the original narrative. Many of them were filled during the analysis through semantic implication. However, a few important elements of the domain are still missing. Also, several depot management system use-cases are implied. We need to make those use-cases explicit and supply the missing domain elements.
| How does the depot manager manage the depot? | |
| The system presents the available depot management operations to a depot manager. | |
| A depot manager selects depot status report from the depot management operations. | |
| The system presents a depot status report. | |
| A depot status report lists each building that has an EPA safety violation. | |
| A depot status report lists pairs of vulnerable buildings. | |
| A depot status report lists a building summary for each storage building. | |
A building summary includes:
|
|
| A depot manager selects building maintenance from the depot management operations. | |
What are the essential usage cases for the following?
|
|
| Where is each building located? | |
| A depot map locates the depot buildings. | |
| Their physical locations determine which buildings neighbor each other. | |
| How is the building information maintained? | |
| For each storage building, a depot manager enters building description into the system. | |
The building description includes:
|
|
| What is the nature of a delivery manifest? | |
| A delivery manifest lists the drum count for an EPA hazard type. | |
| How does the loading bay clerk initiate a delivery? | |
| The system presents loading bay operations to a loading bay clerk. | |
| A loading bay clerk selects drum delivery from the loading bay operations. | |
| A loading bay clerk enters a drum count and EPA hazard type into the system. | |
| How is a drum identified? | |
| A loading bay clerk requests a drum identifier from the system. | |
| The system prints a drum identification label for each drum. | |
| A loading bay clerk attaches a drum identification label to a drum. | |
| What is a discrepancy? | |
| A discrepancy exists when ... a checked load drum count does not match the delivery manifest drum count. | |
A discrepancy report lists
|
|
| What is a returned drum report? | |
A returned drum report lists
|
|
| How does a loading bay clerk initiate a collection? | |
| The system presents loading bay operations to a loading bay clerk. | |
| A loading bay clerk selects drum collection from the loading bay operations. | |
| A loading bay clerk enters a drum count and EPA hazard type into the system. | |
| How is a collection ended? | |
| A loading bay clerk notifies the system of a collected drum load. | |
| The system removes the collected drums from the drum inventory. | |
| Who unloads the drums from a truck in the loading bay? | |
| A drum handler transfers delivered drums from a truck into the loading bay. | |
| What happens to the returned drums? | |
| A drum handler returns drums from the loading bay onto a truck. | |
| How are the drums collected? | |
| A loading bay clerk gives a collection manifest to a drum handler. | |
| A drum handler collects drums from the storage buildings into the loading bay. | |
| A drum handler transfers the collected drums from the loading bay onto the truck. | |
| A truck collects a drum load from the loading bay. | |