FormAgi – A Concept for More Flexible Formal Developments

It is increasingly important that the software system that is developed is not only of good quality, but also delivered within the anticipated cost and deadlines. Formal methods ensure that the system is correct and created according to specification, and thus fulfills the requirements and preserves certain quality attributes. Since the methods are based on establishing a heavy design upfront, the development schedule can be quite well estimated. However in reality, when the customer is changing the requirements during the development, neither the schedule nor the cost can remain constant. Therefore, a more flexible development process is needed in order to facilitate a well- established development method and, thus, enable efficient tackling of the volatility of requirements.

In this report we propose an adaptable development framework called FormAgi, which merges the strengths of formal methods and agile development methods. We base our study on concepts that are vital in formal development and combine them with ideas from well-known agile methods. Furthermore, we indicate how the framework can be utilized in the Event-B environment. Finally, we identify the challenges and opportunities for this kind of fusion.