What is
Requirements Modeling Language?
Visual models drive alignment.
Requirements Modeling Language (RML®) is a set of visual tools designed to assist in the elicitation, analysis, and documentation of requirements for projects. It simplifies communication between executive, business, and technical stakeholders by presenting information in an easily understandable format. The models help identify missing, redundant, or conflicting requirements and bring context to textual information.
Pictures make it easy to understand.
Requirements models are diagrams that organize information to help you find missing, redundant, and conflicting pieces of information and bring context to a set of text. Models are things like Process Flows, Ecosystem Maps, and State Diagrams, but there are many more.
RML® Model Categories
RML® models are grouped into four complementary areas designed to analyze the solution from different perspectives: Objectives (describe the business value of the system), People (describe who uses the system and how), Systems (detail the interaction between systems), and Data (define the information in the system and how it is modified). It is rarely the case that all RML models need to be employed to derive complete requirements. With these visual models, business analysts are better equipped to organize the requirements in a way that makes it easy to see when requirements are missing, extraneous, or incorrect.
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Why Text-Based Requirements Aren't Enough
Analysts who rely on traditional text-based methods for documenting software requirements often face issues with analysis, organization, and understanding. Long lists of “shall” statements, use cases, or user stories can be overwhelming, making it hard to ensure completeness. By structuring requirements based on their relationships, smaller, more manageable groups can be analyzed, simplifying the process.
RML® addresses this challenge by using visual models to present information. This approach helps overcome the brain’s limited ability to handle many concepts at once, known as “Miller’s Magic Number” (7±2). Visual models make it easier to quickly analyze large sets of data without overwhelming short-term memory.
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Multiple Perspectives
Objectives, People, Systems & Data Models each show different information. Together they complete a picture.
If given just one perspective on a 3D shape, it’s impossible to know what the shape actually is.
Models work together to give stakeholders a complete picture.
Explore RML® Models by Category (Objectives, People, Systems, and Data)
Download the Full Suite of RML® Visual Models and Templates
The .zip file contains the full suite of RML® visual models and templates – 22 different business analyst templates! – in various formats (Microsoft Word, Visio, and Excel), all of which are outlined and explained in the book Visual Models for Software Requirements.
Wondering how RML® is different than other modeling languages and when to use different ones? Check out this blog for a comparison.
