View Proposal

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Proposer

Andrew Ireland

Title

Neuro-symbolic Requirements Engineering

Goal

Build a tool that integrates the symbolic modelling of requirements with LLMs

Description

Problem frames is a technique that uses common patterns that occur within problems to capture requirements within the context of software engineering. A feature of the problem frames approach is that it draws a distinction between system requirements (world view) and software requirements (software view). The consistency between the world and software views can then be verified mechanically. Note that inconsistencies at this level have historically led to catastrophic system failures. Consistency verification will typically rely upon assumptions about the 'world' in which the intended system will operate. Problems frames does not help with ensuring the validating of such assumptions. This is where LLMs might help, i.e., we propose to use LLMs to explain the validity (or otherwise) of a given set of assumptions. Ultimately, it will be the responsibility of a human engineer to decide if they believe the LLM's explanations. But a tool that combines symbolic 'consistency verification' with neuro (i.e., LLM) explanations of 'assumption validating' could increase the productivity of an engineer. It would be a cool tool too!

Resources

LLM and an appropriate programming language to build a consistency verification engine for problem frames.

Background

Logic and Proof, AI, Software Engineering.

Url

Difficulty Level

High

Ethical Approval

None

Number Of Students

1

Supervisor

Andrew Ireland

Keywords

Degrees

Bachelor of Science in Computer Science
Master of Engineering in Software Engineering
Master of Science in Software Engineering