Artifact-based Approach for Integrating Legal and Engineering Perspectives in Regulatory Requirements Engineering

核心概念

An artifact-based approach can effectively capture and reflect legal domain knowledge and support engineering-legal coordination in regulatory requirements engineering.

要約

The paper introduces the Artifact Model for Regulatory Requirements Engineering (AM4RRE), which aims to address the challenges in regulatory requirements engineering (RE) from the legal perspective. The key insights are:

1. Focus group research with legal researchers identified four main challenges in regulatory RE:

   • Detachment from legal interpretation practice
   • Non-linear and iterative nature of legal interpretation
   • Ignorance of the software context
   • Limited application of legal concepts in regulatory RE approaches

2. To address these challenges, the authors developed the AM4RRE model, which follows an artifact-oriented philosophy. The model consists of:

   • A role model defining the involved roles (requirements engineer, legal expert, domain expert)
   • A process model describing the main milestones in regulatory RE
   • An artifact model capturing the structure and content of regulatory and requirements artifacts

3. The artifact model explicitly models legal concepts (e.g., legal subject, regulatory act, jurisdiction) and their relationships to requirements concepts. This allows for the explication of legal knowledge and supports engineering-legal coordination.

4. A conceptual validation with RE and legal researchers suggests that the artifact-based approach can capture legal knowledge on a high level and serve as a basis for engineering-legal coordination, though aspects of practical applicability need further validation.

The authors conclude that the AM4RRE model provides a valuable conceptual basis for systematically integrating legal concepts into regulatory RE, which can be further operationalized and empirically evaluated in future work.

統計

"The number and complexity of regulatory acts applicable to software systems have been growing in recent years."
"Regulatory RE activities aim at producing a consistent interpretation of the law and meet the expectations of legal stakeholders."
"There is a disparity between available RE approaches and the expectations of legal stakeholders."

引用

"Whatever approach is eventually chosen to engage in regulatory RE, it needs to incorporate legal knowledge in some form."
"We aim at developing the first version of a regulatory RE approach that satisfies the demands of legal experts and supports engineering-legal coordination."

抽出されたキーインサイト

On Developing an Artifact-based Approach to Regulatory Requirements Engineering

by Oleksandr Ko... 場所 arxiv.org 05-02-2024

https://arxiv.org/pdf/2405.00415.pdf

深掘り質問

How can the AM4RRE model be extended to provide more detailed guidance for the legal interpretation process?

The AM4RRE model can be extended to provide more detailed guidance for the legal interpretation process by incorporating additional legal concepts and relationships specific to the regulatory domain. This extension can involve a more comprehensive taxonomy of legal concepts, including definitions, properties, and interrelations, to facilitate a structured and systematic approach to legal interpretation. Furthermore, the model can include guidelines or templates for legal experts to follow when interpreting regulatory acts, ensuring consistency and accuracy in the interpretation process. By enhancing the content model with a broader range of legal concepts and their implications, the AM4RRE model can offer a more robust framework for legal interpretation in regulatory requirements engineering.

What are the potential limitations of an artifact-based approach in capturing the nuances and uncertainties inherent in legal interpretation?

While an artifact-based approach like AM4RRE offers a structured framework for capturing legal knowledge and facilitating engineering-legal coordination, it may have limitations in capturing the nuances and uncertainties inherent in legal interpretation. One potential limitation is the inherent complexity and subjectivity of legal interpretation, which may not always align with a structured artifact model. Legal interpretation often involves contextual factors, case-specific considerations, and evolving legal principles that may not easily fit into predefined artifact structures. Additionally, the model may struggle to accommodate the dynamic nature of legal concepts and the evolving regulatory landscape, leading to potential gaps in capturing the full scope of legal nuances and uncertainties. Furthermore, the model's reliance on predefined relationships and concepts may not fully capture the intricacies and subtleties of legal reasoning and argumentation, which are essential in legal interpretation.

How can the AM4RRE model be adapted to support regulatory RE in different domains beyond software engineering, such as healthcare or finance?

To adapt the AM4RRE model to support regulatory requirements engineering (RE) in different domains beyond software engineering, such as healthcare or finance, several modifications and extensions can be considered. Firstly, the model can be customized to incorporate domain-specific legal concepts, regulations, and compliance requirements relevant to the healthcare or finance sectors. This customization may involve expanding the content model to include industry-specific regulatory acts, legal interpretations, and compliance standards.
Secondly, the role model within the AM4RRE framework can be adjusted to accommodate the unique stakeholders and experts involved in healthcare or finance regulatory RE. For instance, roles such as healthcare compliance officers, financial regulators, or medical legal advisors may need to be included to ensure comprehensive coverage of domain-specific expertise.
Additionally, the process model can be tailored to reflect the distinct regulatory processes and milestones characteristic of healthcare or finance industries. This adaptation may involve defining specific project scopes, regulatory context specifications, and requirements specifications that align with the regulatory frameworks of these domains.
Overall, by customizing the AM4RRE model to suit the regulatory requirements and nuances of healthcare or finance sectors, it can effectively support regulatory RE in diverse domains beyond software engineering.