Exploring relationships in User Story management using a graph database

Abstract

The use of information systems has become indispensable in all aspects of society, creating a permanent need to ensure that these systems can respond efficiently and effectively to the challenges they face. The Tax and Customs Authority (AT) plays a crucial role in raising financial resources, so this dependence on information systems needs particular attention, considering the significant implications for taxpayers. The suitability of these systems is based on a clear understanding of the needs and expectations of all stakeholders. This identification is based on a requirements management process that identifies what the software should do, how it should do it, and the limitations and constraints to which it must be subject. Software development generates a significant amount of artifacts and associated information that need to be managed and kept coherent. Relationships are also established between this information, creating difficulties in its analysis and influencing decisionmaking. In the context of AT, which is constantly evolving, these difficulties are aggravated, so a technological approach to minimize them is a goal to be achieved. For this purpose, a TraceUS prototype was created, which allows the management of the information associated with User Stories, ensuring an easy and fast way to identify the established relationships and an adequate visualization of this information using a graph database. This approach’s main contribution is to provide project leaders with a tool to support decision-making on issues that may condition a system’s evolution, behavior, or availability.

A utiliza¸c˜ao de sistemas de informa¸c˜ao tornou-se indispens´avel em todos os aspetos da sociedade, criando uma necessidade permanente de garantir que estes sistemas possam responder de forma eficiente e eficaz aos desafios que enfrentam. A Autoridade Tribut´aria e Aduaneira (AT) desempenha um papel crucial na angaria ¸c˜ao de recursos financeiros, pelo que esta dependˆencia com os sistemas de informa¸c˜ao necessita de especial aten¸c˜ao, dado as implica¸c˜oes significativas para os contribuintes. A adequa¸c˜ao destes sistemas baseia-se numa compreens˜ao clara das necessidades e expectativas de todas as partes interessadas. Essa identifica¸c˜ao ´e baseada num processo de gest˜ao de requisitos que identifica o que o software deve fazer, como deve fazˆe-lo e as limita¸c˜oes e restri¸c˜oes a que tem de estar sujeito. O desenvolvimento de software ´e um processo que gera um volume significativo de artefatos e informa¸c˜oes associadas que precisam ser geridos e mantidos coerentes. Estabelecemse tamb´em rela¸c˜oes entre esta informa¸c˜ao, surgindo dificuldades na sua an´alise e influenciando a tomada de decis˜ao. No contexto da AT, em constante evolu¸c˜ao, estas dificuldades agravam-se, pelo que uma abordagem tecnol´ogica para as minimizar ´e um objetivo a alcan¸car. Para o efeito foi criado um prot´otipo TraceUS, que permite gerir a informa¸c˜ao associada a User Stories, assegurando uma forma f´acil e r´apida de identifica¸c˜ao das rela¸c˜oes estabelecidas e uma adequada visualiza¸c˜ao dessa informa¸c˜ao com recurso a uma base de dados de grafos. O principal contributo desta abordagem ´e dotar os chefes de projecto com uma ferramenta que apoie a tomada de decis˜ao, em quest˜oes que possam condicionar a evolu¸c˜ao, comportamento ou disponibilidade de um sistema.