TASC4RE: A data-driven context model to support the elicitation of context-aware functionalities

In requirements elicitation for context-aware systems, context modeling is an essential early step. However, it has been overlooked by practitioners due to its perceived high complexity, in particular when it comes to the analysis of how different contexts may influence a user task of interest. To change this situation, data-driven context modeling approaches appear to be promising: Based on contextual data, algorithms can identify how contextual elements may, in combination with each other, influence user tasks. In this paper, we contribute the Task-specific Context Model for Requirements Elicitation (TASC4RE). TASC4RE is a context model representation aimed at supporting data-driven context modeling approaches. It combines the expressiveness of natural language, which is appreciated by human readers, with formality. TASC4RE was preliminarily evaluated in a controlled experiment with professionals in the context of a software development project. The results showed a positive trend towards the acceptance of the model.