VReq

VReq is a formal framework for capturing, modeling, and validating software and systems requirements. It provides a domain-specific language known as VReq-L that expresses requirements with precise semantics, including temporal properties, data invariants, and behavioral constraints. The framework emphasizes traceability, enabling links from requirements to designs, tests, and verification artifacts.

The VReq toolchain includes a compiler for VReq-L, a model checker, and a verifier backend that can attempt to prove properties or generate counterexamples. It integrates with common development environments and can import/export standard formats such as XML, JSON, and BPMN models. It supports incremental verification to handle large-scale systems and provides visualization tools for exploring verification results.

Typical workflows: capture stakeholder needs, formalize them in VReq-L, automatically generate verification obligations, run model checking or theorem proving, and incorporate results into validation reports. It supports collaboration through role-based access and change tracking.

Origins trace to academic research in formal methods; matured into a software product in 201X from a consortium of universities and industry partners. It has been used in safety-critical domains like automotive and avionics, mostly for requirement verification and consistency checking rather than full software verification.

Critics note its learning curve and the need for domain expertise; proponents argue it improves requirement quality and reduces late-stage defects. Related concepts include formal methods, requirement engineering, and traceability.