From Textual to Formal Requirements: A Case Study Using Spectra in Safety-Critical Systems Domain

The requirements specification of any system is crucial for the correct development of the systems and software. It becomes even more relevant in the development of safety-critical systems (SCS). This paper aims to investigate the process of transforming requirements specification written in natural language (textual requirements) to requirements specification written in Spectra language (formal requirements). Spectra is a formal language built to specify reactive systems. The case study carried out in this research focuses on the requirements specification of a low-cost insulin infusion pump. The requirements were initially specified in natural language and later transformed into Spectra language. During the transformation process, we investigated the potential use of the Spectra language in the phase of requirements specification, identifying the difficulties in the transformation process and its advantages, taking into account the software engineer's point of view.