Building a project ontology with extreme collaboration and virtual design and construction

This paper defines the concept of the ‘tripod’ method of design that uses VDC modeling (multi-disciplinary performance-based virtual design and construction modeling), an integrated POP model (a formal and integrated model of Product, Organization and Process of the project) and Extreme Collaboration (a very rapid concurrent and technologically enabled social process of design). The paper focuses in particular on the generic ontology of the POP model, which specifies the related functional requirements, designed forms and predicted, observed and desired behaviors of the defined POP elements. With collateral drawings, models, analyses and explanations, the project specific POP model becomes the schematic and initial detailed design for the project. We describe use of the tripod method for the preliminary design of a large commercial building project. While large generic building project ontologies exist, e.g. the Industry Foundation Classes, we find that our ontology is so simple that teams using any design tools and methods can use it today, and it is helpful. We interpret our results as early evidence that the Tripod engineering process of VDC, Extreme Collaboration and use of a generic POP ontology together enable a design team to build a new integrated multidisciplinary project design model very rapidly. It can then be used to support downstream detailed design and construction planning and also reuse in other engineering projects.     

Cooperative research in underwater robot mission-level programming methodologies

Programming autonomous vehicles to accomplish complex missions is a complicated task for which the development of control architectures is of prime importance. The goal of this paper is to describe the accomplishments of both French and American teams within a cooperative research program focused on the development of high-level control of semi-autonomous underwater vehicles. In particular, two different mission-programming methodologies are examined in the context of the requirements of a generic, reactive and complex underwater mission. The French team uses a combination of the ESTEREL synchronous programming language and the PIRRAT real-time control library to implement a methodology derived from the ORCCAD programming system. The approach taken by the American team builds a trilevel hybrid architecture using the CONTROLSHELL real-time software development environment. The details of each methodology are highlighted through the presentation of the high-level programs designed by each team using their approach to control an underwater robot to perform a multiphased underwater mission. The utility of both programming methodologies was verified through the successful completion of those missions in experimental demonstrations by the French VORTEX and American OTTER autonomous underwater vehicles.     

一个集成化的软件工程支撑环境

软件工程支撑环境的集成化问题是构造环境的中心环节,它涉及到概念、方法、技术和工具等方面,有其内在的逻辑含义和物理表征。本文介绍了一个在UNIX系统上构造的集成化的软件工程支撑环境。该环境以环境库和用户界面为其主要的集成机制,支持面向对象的程序设计方法。它提供了一个基本语言序列,可以支持不同层次的用户从事软件开发活动和项目管理活动。在实现上,采用分层虚机器的构造方法,从而保证了系统的坚固性、开放性和可剪裁性。     

Guest editors’ introduction to the 4th issue of Experimental Software and Toolkits (EST-4)

Experimental software and toolkits play a crucial role in computer science. Elsevier’s Science of Computer Programming special issues on Experimental Software and Toolkits (EST) provide a means for academic tool builders to get more visibility and credit for their work, by publishing a paper along with the corresponding system in a peer-reviewed journal. Typically, tools are presented from both a user and a developer perspective, addressing tool-building issues such as architecture and design, requirements, methodologies and process aspects. This is already the fourth edition of EST with no less than 17 published systems covering application areas ranging from software analysis and visualization to teaching and software development support.     

Tailoring by integration of domain-specific components: the case of a document search tool

In this paper we describe the evolutionary design and implementation of a search tool for files in shared workspaces used within an off-the-shelf groupware product. The design is based on the assumption that a useful generic search tool must be highly tailorable, which is achieved by applying an innovative software architecture allowing the assembly of components during runtime. In order to understand people's searching methods in shared workspaces and to support the design, we employed interviews and workshops with users as well as a field test to understand the users' needs. During the design process we developed a series of prototypes that were then evaluated by office workers. Consequently, the process described and the lessons learned extend from searching in files as a case via tailorability of software as an answer to the resulting requirements to component architecture as a way to implement this tailorability. The results derived from the treatment of these interrelated aspects constitute the core and value of this paper.     

Tailoring by integration of domain-specific components: the case of a document search tool

In this paper we describe the evolutionary design and implementation of a search tool for files in shared workspaces used within an off-the-shelf groupware product. The design is based on the assumption that a useful generic search tool must be highly tailorable, which is achieved by applying an innovative software architecture allowing the assembly of components during runtime. In order to understand people's searching methods in shared workspaces and to support the design, we employed interviews and workshops with users as well as a field test to understand the users' needs. During the design process we developed a series of prototypes that were then evaluated by office workers. Consequently, the process described and the lessons learned extend from searching in files as a case via tailorability of software as an answer to the resulting requirements to component architecture as a way to implement this tailorability. The results derived from the treatment of these interrelated aspects constitute the core and value of this paper.     

Scientific Software Development at a Research Facility

The Synchrotron Radiation Computing Group at Daresbury Laboratory develops experiment control and data acquisition software to support scientific research. Here, the authors review their experiences and learning over the past 20 years, examining the organizational structure they use on a project to develop a generic data acquisition (GDA) system. They discuss what worked well, how they adapted methodologies and tools to meet their particular needs, and improvements for the future.     

An experiment on linguistic tool support for consolidation of requirements from multiple sources in market-driven product development

This paper presents an experiment with a linguistic support tool for consolidation of requirements sets. The experiment is designed based on the requirements management process at a large market-driven software development company that develops generic solutions to satisfy many different customers. New requirements and requests for information are continuously issued, which must be analyzed and responded to. The new requirements should first be consolidated with the old to avoid reanalysis of previously elicited requirements and to complement existing requirements with new information. In the presented experiment, a new open-source tool is evaluated in a laboratory setting. The tool uses linguistic engineering techniques to calculate similarities between requirements and presents a ranked list of suggested similar requirements, between which links may be assigned. It is hypothesized that the proposed technique for finding and linking similar requirements makes the consolidation more efficient. The results show that subjects that are given the support provided by the tool are significantly more efficient and more correct in consolidating two requirements sets, than are subjects that do not get the support. The results suggest that the proposed techniques may give valuable support and save time in an industrial requirements consolidation process.     

Experience with user-centred requirements engineering

This paper describes the application of human–computer interaction (HCI) principles and methods to requirements engineering in a case study development of a visualisation tool, ADVISES, to support epidemiological research. The development approach consisted of scenario-based design and analysis of the users’ tasks and mental model of the domain. Prototyping and storyboarding techniques were used to explore design options with users as well as specifying functionality for two versions of the software to meet the needs of novice and expert users. Application of HCI functional allocation heuristics to guide system requirements decisions is explained. An evaluation of the prototype was carried out to assess the extent to which the expert model would support public health professionals in their analysis activities. The results of the design exploration requirements analysis study are reported. The implications of scenario-based design exploration, functional allocation and software architecture are discussed.     

Model-Driven Development in the Enterprise

For decades, model-driven development has been the perfect example of software-engineering hype. Just as bees are attracted to honey, we software engineers look for ways of simplifying our work and automating endless change cycles. Today, after many years of experimenting with MDD, mostly in limited-size scientific environments, the three ingredients of methodology, notation, and tools seem to fit and support each other. Round-trip engineering might still be some years from day-to-day practice, but simple forward engineering with MDD is readily available to software practitioners now. And it works. In this issue's column, Axel Uhl, chief development architect in SAP's Office of the CTO, looks into MDD methodologies and tool support. He shares his many practical experiences to help you master the ramp-up for your own enterprise.     

Review of Intelligent Software Architectures for the Development of An Intelligent Decision Support System for Design Process Planning in Concurrent Engineering

Concurrent engineering (CE) is a strategy that attempts to process as many product development tasks in parallel and incorporate relevant life-cycle attributes as early as possible in the design phase in an effort to reduce the duration of design projects, save development costs, and provide better quality products. The CE environment is characterized by a high degree of distributed cognitive processing in the form of product development team structures. The distribution of appropriate knowledge to members of these teams and other participants in the design process for the purpose of supporting management and planning decisions is a considerably complex problem. New approaches and tools based on artificial intelligence methodologies are needed to deal with this level of complexity in coordinating knowledge resources. This paper reviews a number of potential candidates for an intelligent software architecture that can represent this type of problem as well as support the knowledge handling necessary to solve such problems. The selection of an appropriate architecture will support the development of an intelligent information system that is able to mimic human cognitive processes as the basic tool for providing decision-making support for planning and controlling a CE design process.     

AspectMaps: Extending Moose to visualize AOP software

When using aspect-oriented programming the application implicitly invokes the functionality contained in the aspects. Consequently program comprehension of such a software is more intricate. To alleviate this difficulty we developed the AspectMaps visualization and tool. AspectMaps extends the Moose program comprehension and reverse engineering platform with support for aspects, and is implemented using facilities provided by Moose. In this paper we present the AspectMaps tool, and show how it can be used by performing an exploration of a fairly large aspect-oriented application. We then show how we extended the FAMIX meta-model family that underpins Moose to also provide support for aspects. This extension is called ASPIX, and thanks to this enhancement Moose can now also treat aspect-oriented software. Finally, we report on our experiences using some of the tools in Moose; Mondrian to implement the visualization, and Glamour to build the user interface. We discuss how we were able to implement a sizable visualization tool using them and how we were able to deal with some of their limitations.Note: This paper uses colors extensively. Please use a color version to better understand the ideas presented here.     

Generic manufacturing information systems development via template prototyping

There are a number of difficulties with software support for production management decision making in small manufacturing enterprises (SME). System requirement specification and total system cost are two major hurdles. A generic approach to the system design will enable the development costs to be spread across a group of users, while prototyping offers the potential to involve users in the system specification and design. However existing prototyping methodologies have not focused on producing generic software. The template prototyping concepts developed here, together with the derived methodology, based on object-orientated structures, contribute significantly to overcoming these difficulties. The use of the developed software in practice and as a learning tool in computer aided production management for SME environments is outlined.     

A CASE tool for software architecture design

This paper describes the Software Architect's Assistant, an automated visual tool for the design and construction of Regis distributed programs. Unlike conventional CASE tools and their supported methodologies, the Architect's Assistant supports a compositional approach to program development in which the software architecture plays a central role throughout the software life-cycle—from the early design stage through to system management and evolution.In its implementation, we have addressed some of the limitations of existing CASE tools, particularly in the degree of automated support offered to the human developer. Conscious effort has been made to maximise usability and efficiency, primarily by enhancing the level of automation and flexibility together with careful design of the user interface. Our objective is to provide a tool which automates all mundane clerical tasks, enforces program correctness and consistency and, at the same time, accommodates the individual working styles of its users.Although currently specific to the development of Regis programs, the Architect's Assistant embodies concepts and ideas which are applicable to CASE tools in general.     

Infrastructure for Design, Deployment and Experimentation of Distributed Agent-based Systems: The Requirements, The Technologies, and An Example

This paper discusses infrastructure for design, development, and experimentation of multi-agent systems. Multi-agent system design requires determining (1) how domain requirements drive the use of agents and AI techniques, (2) what competencies agents need in a MAS, and (3) which techniques implement those competencies. Deployment requirements include code reuse, parallel development through formal standardized object specifications, multi-language and multi-platform support, simulation and experimentation facilities, and user interfaces to view internal module, agent, and system operations. We discuss how standard infrastructure technologies such as OMG IDL, OMG CORBA, Java, and VRML support these services. Empirical evaluation of complex software systems requires iteration through combinations of experimental parameters and recording desired data. Infrastructure software can ease the setup, running, and analysis of large-scale computational experiments. The development of the Sensible Agent Testbed and architecture over the past six years provides a concrete example. The design rationale for the Sensible Agent architecture emphasizes domain-independent requirements and rapid deployment to new application domains. The Sensible Agent Testbed is a suite of tools providing or assisting in setting up, running, visually monitoring, and chronicling empirical testing and operation of complex, distributed multi-agent systems. A thorough look at the various Sensible Agents infrastructure pieces illustrates the engineering principles essential for multi-agent infrastructure, while documenting the software for users.     

Supporting Software Development With Roles

Software development tools are very important in software engineering. Although roles have been acknowledged and applied for many years in several areas related to software engineering, there is a lack of research on software development tools based on roles. Most significantly, there is no complete and consistent consideration of roles in all the phases of software development. Considering the increasing importance and applications of roles in software development, this paper intends to discuss the importance of roles in software engineering and that of role-based software development; review the literature relevant to role mechanisms in software engineering; propose and describe a role-based software process; and implement a prototype tool for developing complex software systems with the help of role mechanisms