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Abstract. This paper presents an initial ontology for reasoning about a system's System Qualities (SQs), ilities, or non-functional requirements (reliability, usability, affordability, etc.). The need for such an ontology is based primarily on two factors. One is the importance of getting the SQs sufficiently well defined that the system's definition, development and evolution result in a satisfactory balance of SQ values for the system's success-critical stakeholders, given the frequent system shortfalls and overruns that occur when this balance is not achieved. The other is that current system acquisition and evolution guidance descriptions have numerous deficiencies and inconsistencies in their coverage of SQ considerations. This situation is becoming more serious as systems and their stakeholders become increasingly complex, dynamic, and diverse. This paper provides an elaboration of the needs, a set of initial SQ ontology elements and definitions, examples of their application to some key SQs and their relationships, and an identification of further research and development needed to make the ontology fully useful and evolvable.

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This paper presents an initial ontology for reasoning about a system's System Qualities (SQs), ilities, or non‐functional requirements (reliability, usability, affordability, and more). The need for such ontology is based primarily on two factors. One is the importance of getting the SQs sufficiently well defined such that the system's definition, development, and evolution result in a satisfactory balance of SQ values for the system's success‐critical stakeholders, given the frequent system shortfalls and overruns that occur when the system does not achieve this balance. The other is that current system acquisition and evolution guidance descriptions have numerous deficiencies and inconsistencies in their coverage of SQ considerations. This situation is becoming more serious as systems and their stakeholders become increasingly complex, dynamic, and diverse. This paper provides an elaboration of the needs, a set of initial SQ ontology elements and definitions, examples of their application to some key SQs and their relationships, and an identification of further research and development needed to make the ontology fully useful and evolvable.

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