The continuous evolving of Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) requirements, more specifically Functional Requirements, increases the complexity of TEL software system since such requirements cannot be met by one TEL/e-learning solution. In addition to the traditional Virtual Learning Environments/Learning Management Systems capabilities, such Functional Requirements include: video streaming, plagiarism checker for students’ submissions, e-portfolio, etc. Therefore, combining various e-learning software systems, solutions, or tools seems more realistic. However, a limited effort has been done to investigate and control the impact of combining different solutions on the quality, i.e., Non-Functional Requirements (NFRs), of the overall e-learning software system. This paper proposes a new approach to elicit, precisely specify, and manage NFRs for TEL software systems. To meet these capabilities (i.e., Functional Requirements and Non-Functional Requirements), this paper also proposes a flexible service-oriented architecture for e-learning systems. The proposed list of NFRs is comprehensive and can be customized to various e-learning systems to meet stakeholders’ requirements. Moreover, the proposed architecture needs to be further developed to test its impact on TEL software systems in real scenarios.
Keywords: Technology Enhanced Learning; e-learning; architecture; Non-Functional Requirements; Software architecture; SOA; Web Services