Thesis presentation
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SB Program An Introduction to Component reuse: conceptual foundations and its applications in the metamodelling based system analysis and design environment Zheying Zhang Research seminar on Software Business 5/2/2003 University of Jyväskylä 1 SB Program Outline Introduction Background and terminologies Current situation of the reuse support in ISD Research questions Research methodology Thesis structure and a short summary of each chapter Conclusion and discussions University of Jyväskylä 2 SB Program Introduction Zheying Zhang – Researcher in metaPHOR research group since 1997 • Researcher in RAMSES project (1/1999-4/2000) • Licentiate thesis accepted in 9/2001 – Researcher in SB program since 11/2001 • Research • Dissertation is going to be ready in 2003 – Assistant professor since 1/2003 • Teaching • Thesis supervising • Research and dissertation work University of Jyväskylä 3 SB Program MetaPHOR research group Metamodeling, Principles, Hypertext, Objects and Repositories (http://metaphor.it.jyu.fi) Two experimental and commercial metaCASE tools: MetaEdit & MetaEdit+ Research topics – Application principles, tool architectures and technical solutions for configurable metaCASE environments – Investigate, analyze and understand the evolution of knowledge and knowledge representations – Hypertext and traceability support in systems development, process support and enactment environments – Reuse of software and design artifacts both at the design and metadesign levels – Visual and 3D user interfaces and their modeling in CASE University of Jyväskylä 4 SB Program RAMSES project RAMSES stands for Reuse in Advanced Method Support EnvironmentS. Goals – Building theoretical background on component reuse – Engineering the principles for component definition, search, management and retrieval – Building the automated tools support for component reuse and field testing Founded by Tekes, National Technology Agency, metaCASE consulting, and Nokia Mobile Phone. University of Jyväskylä 5 SB Program Licentiate Thesis - Research questions Title: Component-based reuse in a metaCASE environment Theoretical foundation of RAMSES project Research questions – Q1: How can we define a conceptual framework that supports systematic reuse in a metaCASE environment? – Q2: What is the generic model of reusable components in a metaCASE environment? – Q3: What is the needed functionality of an integrated metaCASE environment that supports systematic reuse? University of Jyväskylä 6 SB Program Licentiate Thesis - Contents Chp1 Introduction -- Q1 Chp2 Conceptual frameworks for systematic reuse in a metaCASE environment -- Q1 – A framework for component reuse in a metamodelling based system development -- REJ 6(2), 2001 Chp3 Component 3C model expanded from (Tracz 1990) – Q2 – Defining components in a metacase environment – CAiSE*00 Chp4 Prototype of component 3C model and its application in system analysis and design – Q2&3 – Using component for system analysis and design in a metaCASE environment -- working paper Chp5 prototype of component search tool in MetaEdit+ -- Q3 – Enhance component reuse by using search techniques -- IRIS23 University of Jyväskylä 7 SB Program Dissertation - Plan Further study the component model – Specifying the context aspect of the component model Empirically study – The usability and influence of the component functionality on the system analysis and design phases of the product development life cycle Validate and refine the concept and content aspects of the component model on component functionality in MetaEdit+ University of Jyväskylä 8 SB Program Dissertation - Title Component Reuse Conceptual Foundations and its Applications in the Metamodelling based System Analysis and Design Environment University of Jyväskylä 9 SB Program Licentiate thesis requirements Capability to formulate and solve a scientific problem Communicate it in a style which is acceptable Length 80-200 pages normally three articles and an introduction -- Licentiate seminar 1998, Kalle Lyytinen University of Jyväskylä 10 SB Program PhD thesis requirements Sufficient scholarly contribution to the scientific knowledge Author’s skills in using scientific research methods Communicate the results in a manner which is acceptable within the scientific community Size: 4-6 articles or 120-300 pages Capability to show independent contribution – Some articles must be written alone (minimum 2) – Unified theme – “Committee proof” by refereed publications -- Licentiate seminar 1998, Kalle Lyytinen University of Jyväskylä 11 SB Program PhD thesis work Management of PhD work through Thesis Proposal – Guides your own work – Communicates others what you want to achieve (sponsors, colleagues, supervisor) – Serves as a contract between you and your supervisor -- Licentiate seminar 1998, Kalle Lyytinen University of Jyväskylä 12 SB Program PhD proposal Incremental refinement, proposal must be finished within the first 2-3 years Continually revised Not the same as ”starting from scratch several times” Good proposal is your best help in achieving your goal -- Licentiate seminar 1998, Kalle Lyytinen University of Jyväskylä 13 SB Program PhD proposal structure (Davis & Parker) Summary Problem, hypothesis or question Importance of the topic Prior research to the topic Research approach / methodology Limitations / key assumptions Expected contribution to knowledge Content outline -- Licentiate seminar 1998, Kalle Lyytinen University of Jyväskylä 14 SB Program Outline Introduction Background and terminologies Current situation of the reuse support in ISD Research questions Research methodology Thesis structure and a short summary of each chapter Conclusion and discussions University of Jyväskylä 15 SB Program Basic Concepts Information system development (ISD) CASE and metaCASE tools Component based systems engineering (CBSE) Reuse in ISD University of Jyväskylä 16 SB Program How can we think of systems development? It is the change process covering – the real world: field of phenomena – conceptualizations of the real world: conceptual structure – descriptions of the conceptualizations: a description language in order to represent – target systems in a complete and unambiguous way. University of Jyväskylä TS Mapping Implementation Reverse Conceptulization FOD 17 SB Program How can we think of systems development? (Cont.) Notion – Reality – Conceptual structure – Description language – Target systems University of Jyväskylä Example – A real XYZ inventory system – Ideas of material flows, information flows and their interactions – Work-flow notation (or ER, DFD, UML notation) – Representation of XYZ inventory system in a work-flow notation 18 SB Program Information Systems Development (ISD) Information system development is a change process taken with respect to a number of object systems in set of environments by a development group to achieve or maintain some objectives held by some stakeholders. -- (Lyytinen 1987) University of Jyväskylä 19 SB Program Object systems – Identify a target of change – Arbitrary boundary set by purpose and objectives Change process – A set of development activities – A procedure, possibly with a prescribed notation, perform the change process (development activity) (Brinkkemper 1996) – Combined techniques form an approach to performing an ISD project, called a method Environment – A web of conditions and factors which surround development processes and affect the development group and its change process, including labor, economy, technology/infrastracture, normative, stakeholders … Development group – Formally organized group with mutual expectations, punishments and rewards, positions, roles, authority, or responsibility University of Jyväskylä 20 SB Program Objectives – intensions in systems development: What is good, how one should behave Stakeholders – can set claims about the object systems and their properties – driven by specific interests and goals – can be grouped as • Internal stakeholders (users, management, organizational units) • External stakeholders (clients, government bodies, professional associations, computer manufactures, software house, etc.) University of Jyväskylä 21 SB Program Information systems development method Definition – Information systems development method is an organized collection of concepts, beliefs, values, and normative principles (knowledge) supported by material resources to carry out changes in object systems in an effective and systematic manner (Lyytinen 1987). Purpose – To enable / support change processes – Achieve some process goals or product goals set by the stakeholders University of Jyväskylä 22 SB Program Use of methods and ISD life-cycle Business process re-engineering and development – business modeling, process modeling, work flow modeling, task structure Requirements engineering – brain-storming, interviews, requirements analysis methods, requirements review methods System analysis and design – data modeling, structured analysis and design, OO analysis and design Construction – mapping from high level language to machine language, version control Operation and maintenance – Version control, configuration management, reverse engineering University of Jyväskylä 23 SB Program Basic Concepts Information system development (ISD) CASE and metaCASE tools Component based systems engineering (CBSE) Reuse in ISD University of Jyväskylä 24 SB Program CASE - an acronym with many interpretations ... Computer Assisted Aided Automated Engineering Software [Software] System [Information] Systems “CASE is use of computer-based support in the software development process” (SEI, 1996) University of Jyväskylä 25 SB Program What is a CASE tool? CASE tool supports several fixed conceptual structures (system description languages) (and associated processes and validity criteria) “A CASE tool is a software environment that assists systems analysts and designers in specifying, analyzing, designing and maintaining an information system.” (Loucopoulos, 1992) University of Jyväskylä 26 SB Program The emergence of CASE technology CASE tool is – a stand-alone tool to help automate program diagramming and documentation (early 80’s) – including automatic checks of designs (mid 80’s) – an integrated environment for a model editor, a document generator, a code generator, and repository CASE tool automates time-consuming aspect of the systems development process including – drawing diagrams – cross-checking of concepts across the system models – generating system documents, code structure, and database schemas University of Jyväskylä 27 SB Program Tool support for models University of Jyväskylä 28 SB Program Models and visual modeling A model is a representation of the conceptualization of the real world A model is a representation of your problem domain and software system A model contains classes, logical packages, objects, operations, component packages, components, processors, devices, and the relationships between them A model also contains diagrams and specifications Visual modeling gives you a graphical representation of the structure and interrelationships of a system by constructing models of your design University of Jyväskylä 29 SB Program Example – CASE tool MetaEdit+ offers CASE tool support for the defined method. It provides diagramming editors, browsers, generators, multi-user support, etc University of Jyväskylä 30 SB Program CASE tool Use Organizations in a rapid changing market requires CASE tools can – flexibly create and modify the conceptual structure • Hardly any project applies OMT as Rumbaugh et al. originally defined • In practice 88% methods are always customized for local needs (Hardy et al.) – be used in specific application domains When the conceptual structures can be modified easily we talk of metaCASE tool University of Jyväskylä 31 SB Program Meta Meta (Greek), ”X about x” ”X behind x” meta-level techniques support abstract principles behind certain phenomena MetaCASE MetaCASE is an area of CASE, in which information system development method support is generated from metamodels University of Jyväskylä 32 SB Program What is a metaCASE tool? A metaCASE tool is software tool that supports the design and generation of CASE tools A metaCASE tool facilitates the design and specification of a method whose full and formal definition is not readily available. Design and specification of a method – method engineering University of Jyväskylä 33 SB Program Tool support for metamodels Metamodels are conceptual models of methods (Brinkkemper 1990) Metamodels can be roughly divided into process and product models – Meta-process model: conceptualization, formalization and abstraction of modelling process • e.g. DFD, AD – Meta-data model: conceptualization, formalization and abstraction of representations or concepts involved in methods • e.g. ERD, CD University of Jyväskylä 34 SB Program Metamodelling Metamodelling is the process of specifying a metamodel using a metamodelling language Method engineering is a metamodelling process to specify and integrate a method into a metamodel from the perspectives of concepts, properties, rules, and generators. University of Jyväskylä 35 SB Program Model and metamodel University of Jyväskylä 36 SB Program Metamodellin g language Modeling and metamodeling Modelling language Metamodelling and modeling in a metaCASE environment (after (Brinkkemper 1990)) University of Jyväskylä 37 SB Program What is a metaCASE tool? - Example MetaEdit+ Method workbench is a tool for designing your method; its concepts, rules, notations and generators. The method definition is stored as a metamodel to the MetaEdit+ repository. University of Jyväskylä 38 SB Program What is a metaCASE environment? MetaEdit+ metaCASE tool allows you to design your method and use it. MetaCASE environment is a system which supports metamodeling in the same environment as modelling, and itself produces the metamodel and inputs it to the metaCASE tools. University of Jyväskylä 39 SB Program Basic Concepts Information system development (ISD) CASE and metaCASE tools Component based systems engineering (CBSE) Reuse in ISD University of Jyväskylä 40 SB Program Why component? Essential techniques for managing system complexity modularity and separation of concerns Increased understanding and awareness of distributed computing and movement from mainframe-based systems toward client/server computing have fuelled that ISD is a set of separable, interacting sub-systems development rather than monolithic University of Jyväskylä 41 SB Program Why component? – business objectives Changes in business requirements – “Make the most of what you have” • Integrated business processes – “Exploit new opportunities” • Electronic commerce, E-business – “Build for change” • Flexible information systems University of Jyväskylä 42 SB Program Why component? – technology trends Systems are not build from scratch or standalone – Application assembly and extension New technology are appearing all the time – Technology independency Systems are constructed from many pieces – Component design focus The resulting distributed systems are complex – Architecture visualization Advance in application architecture – Mainframe client/server internet/network … … University of Jyväskylä 43 SB Program What is a component? A constituent part – Merriam-Webster online A software component is a unit of composition with contractually specified interfaces and explicit context dependencies only. A software component can be deployed independently and is subject to composition by third parties. -- (Szyperski, 1998) University of Jyväskylä 44 SB Program Characteristics of component Packaging perspective - reuse – A component as the unit of packaging, distribution, or delivery Service perspective - interface – A component as the provider of services Integrity perspective - replacement – A component as a data integrity or encapsulation boundary -- Sterling software (Short 1997) University of Jyväskylä 45 SB Program Component based development Emerged in 1990 as a reuse-based approach Motivation: OO development had not led to extensive reuse as originally suggested Component based development – A software development approach where all aspects and phases of the development lifecycle, including requirements analysis, architecture, design, construction, testing, deployment, the supporting technical infrastructure, and the project management are based on components. University of Jyväskylä 46 SB Program CBD Activities and Artifacts University of Jyväskylä 47 SB Program Scope of component-based design and techniques (Sterling Software, 1999) University of Jyväskylä 48 SB Program Component based systems engineering (CBSE) CBSE is a process that emphasizes the design and construction of systems using reusable components CBSE is changing the way large systems are developed. CBSE embodies the ”buy, do not build” philosophy espoused by some engineers CBSE shifts the emphasis from programming to composing IS Implementation has given way to integration as the focus The foundation of CBSE is the assumption that there is sufficient commonality in many large IS to justify developing reusable components to exploit and satisfy that commonality University of Jyväskylä 49 SB Program Basic Concepts Information system development (ISD) CASE and metaCASE tools Component based systems engineering (CBSE) Reuse in ISD University of Jyväskylä 50 SB Program Software reuse In most engineering disciplines, systems are designed by composing existing components that have been used in other systems Software engineering has been more focused on original development but it is now recognized that to achieve better software, more quickly and at lower cost, we need to adapt a design process that is based on systematic reuse University of Jyväskylä 51 SB Program Reuse – past and present Reuse is both an old and a new idea. Programmers have reused ideas, abstractions and processes since the earliest days of computing First introduced by McIlroy in 1968 to solve the problem of software crisis (McIlroy 1969) (Krueger 1992) The early approach to reuse is ad hoc. Today, complex, high quality information systems must be built in very short time periods. This mitigates towards a more organized approach to reuse. University of Jyväskylä 52 SB Program What is reuse? Reuse – use again after processing -Webster Reuse in ISD starts from software reuse, which applies existing software and design artifacts to deliver new applications, or to maintain the old ones Reusable asset – A collection of related software work products that may be reused from one application to another University of Jyväskylä 53 SB Program Features of reuse Is a long-term strategy Is driven by business decisions Must be integrated in the software/system development process reuse adoption is part of process improvement Is an investment Strongly depends on organization structure and, ultimately on people Is more effective within a domain University of Jyväskylä 54 SB Program Benefits of reuse Increased reliability – Components exercised in working systems Reduce process risk – Less uncertainty in development costs Effective use of specialists – Reuse components instead of people Standards compliance – Embed standards in reusable components Accelerated development – Avoid original development and hence speed-up production University of Jyväskylä 55 SB Program Type of reuse Ad-hoc reuse – No plan, no defined process Opportunistic reuse – No standard process – The software developer identifies the need and browse the repository to find the needed assets Systematic reuse – Well-planned, cost-effective, and productive – The purposeful creation, management, support, and reuse of assets (Jacobson et al. 1997) – Requires long-term management support and years of investment University of Jyväskylä 56 SB Program Levels of reuse Specification – e.g. Spec. documents, project plans Design – e.g. design patterns, domain models – Less implementation, portable and reusable, provide greater savings Code – e.g. class libraries, functional units performing business tasks Test – e.g. test cases and data – Results in more reliable system University of Jyväskylä 57 SB Program Reusable assets Off-the-shelf (COTS) – Assets identified as being of potential interest, which may come from a variety of local and remote sources, selected or concerned at the requirements analysis stage Qualified – Assets assessed by software engineers to ensure that not only functionality, but also performance, reliability, usability, and other quality factors conform to the requirements of the system/product to be built Adapted – Assets adapted to modify (wrapping) unwanted or undesired characteristics University of Jyväskylä 58 SB Program Reusable assets (Cont.) Assembled – Assets integrated into an architectural style and interconnected with an appropriate system infrastructure that allows the assets to be coordinated and managed effectively. Updated – Replacing existing software as new versions of assets become available University of Jyväskylä 59 SB Program Outline Introduction Background and terminologies Current situation of the reuse support in ISD Research questions Research methodology Thesis structure and a short summary of each chapter Conclusion and discussions University of Jyväskylä 60 SB Program Current situation, related research and research problems Reuse technology – current reuse support in ISD Current tools support for component reuse Research problems University of Jyväskylä 61 SB Program Current reuse support in ISD A technique supporting reuse may consist of both developing for reuse and developing with reuse – e.g. product line engineering Reuse techniques – – – – – – – Object oriented techniques Design patterns Application frameworks Agent-based systems Architectures Domain-specific modeling Component-based development University of Jyväskylä 62 SB Program Comparison of reuse techniques (part) Strength Weakness OOT Enhances modularity and information hiding Requires significant modeling effort Design patterns Facilitate retrieval of design solutions, provide guidelines for the development process Implementation from scratch Frameworks Domain specific semi-complete applications to be customized Requires high expertise and deep understanding of the framework design Software Agents Highly customizable and adaptable, allow easy reconfiguration of complex system Not yet mature and consolidated technology Architectures Allow formal verification of structural properties. Simplify the reuse of technical and business objects No guidance for choosing the right architecture -- (Ezran, 1998) University of Jyväskylä 63 SB Program Domain-specific modeling (DSM) Domain - a problem space for a family of applications with similar requirements, a set of related systems with commonality DSM - the process to understand the customer’s requirements within the domain and represent the requirements in the form of logical models (Sodhi and Sodhi 1998) DSM allows developers to concentrate on the required functionality and shift the focus from code to design University of Jyväskylä 64 SB Program DSM environment DSM environment consists of – Domain-specific modeling language • operates on domain concepts, not on code • limited variation space – Domain-specific code generator • generates products described by the models • variation for output formats – Domain framework • supports code generation • primitive services and components on top of the platform University of Jyväskylä 65 SB Program Benefits of DSM Captures domain knowledge (as opposed to code) – – – – Uses domain abstractions Applies domain concepts and rules as modeling constructs Narrow down the design space Focus on single range of products Benefits Apply familiar terminology Solve the RIGHT problems! Solve problems only ONCE! – model-driven reuse Faster development of quality products! --- MetaCASE Consulting, 2001 University of Jyväskylä 66 SB Program Domain Idea Solve problem in domain terms Modeling domain vs. modeling code Map to code, implement Assembler Map to code, implement Finished Product Code Generate, Add bodies Map to UML No map! University of Jyväskylä Domain Model UML Model Generate calls to components Components --- MetaCASE Consulting, 2001 67 SB Program Summary of DSM Expected benefits – – – – – make a product family explicit leverage the knowledge of the family to help developers substantially increase the speed of variant creation ensure that the family approach is followed de facto The amount of expert resources needed to build and maintain a DSM does not grow with the size of product family and/or number of developers Problems – Organizational changes (introduction, diffusion) University of Jyväskylä 68 SB Program Component-based development A software development approach where all aspects and phases of the development lifecycle, including requirements analysis, architecture, design, construction, testing, deployment, the supporting technical infrastructure, and the project management are based on components. University of Jyväskylä 69 SB Program Why component based development Reuse Deal with change Manage complexity Create commerce in component -- (SEI, 2002) University of Jyväskylä 70 SB Program Why component based development Reuse Expected benefits – “The rewards of theft over honest toil” (Will Tracz) Problems – It is not as easy as it sounds – Planned component reuse never seems to happen • Cost of developing reusable components requires an asset be reused 2.5 times to recover the added cost – Sound modest, but it was not happening • Lots of organizational/cultural resistance – We know what we want, we can do it better – We’ll spend all our time trying to figure out how to use it -- (SEI, 2002) University of Jyväskylä 71 SB Program Why component based development Dealing with change Expected benefits – Component leads to linear cost of change i.e., requirements become modular by virtue of components Problems – It is not as easy as it sounds • Component are not as modular as they seem – they interact i.e. are co-dependent • Interface languages are not expressive enough to hide all the properties that might be sources of dependency -- (SEI, 2002) University of Jyväskylä 72 SB Program Why component based development Managing complexity Expected benefits – Components hide complexity for distribution (i.e. black boxes) Problems – It is not as easy as it sounds • Complex component functionality (feature-richness) still leads to complex interfaces • Interface languages are not expressive enough, so hidden properties accumulate and lead to unanticipated interactions -- (SEI, 2002) University of Jyväskylä 73 SB Program Why component based development Commerce of components Expected benefits – Shorten design-to-production cycles – Provide current technology solutions – … Problems – Be careful for what you wish … … – The market yields components that are … … • Complex • Idiosyncratic • Unstable -- (SEI, 2002) – See previous two slides University of Jyväskylä 74 SB Program Systematic reuse obstacles - nontechnical Organizational – One project at a time – Managerial • Attitude: fear and mistrust • Lack of knowledge Business – Reuse takes capital and founding Psychological – Cognitive barriers • Notations and representations University of Jyväskylä 75 SB Program Systematic reuse obstacles - technical Engineering – – – – – Lack of suitable component Lack of flexibility in potentially reusable components Lack of tools Lack of standard Cognitive barriers Process support University of Jyväskylä 76 SB Program Current situation, related research and research problems Reuse technology – current reuse support in ISD Current tools support for component reuse Research problem definition University of Jyväskylä 77 SB Program Reuse supported tools Many tools on the market with slogans to support CBD and thereby reuse Most of the tools support enterprise modeling, code generation, and round-trip engineering We analyze 6 typical commercial tools in COMBO project: MetaEdit+, ObjectiF, Paradigm Plus, Rose 98, Select Family, Together Solo University of Jyväskylä 78 SB Program Results of tool survey We can obtain some insights into the various ways in which technologies support reuse But it still lacks an integrated reuse environment and an approach to systematic reuse – Limited understanding of reusable assets/components – Insufficient support for systematic reuse – Limited modeling technique support University of Jyväskylä 79 SB Program Result 1: Limited understanding of reusable assets/components Most tools regard only code as a reusable asset Reusing design artifacts at stages earlier than implementation has greater potential leverage because of their greater expressive power Reusing design artifacts at stages earlier than implementation can further trigger code reuse University of Jyväskylä 80 SB Program Result 2: Insufficient support for systematic reuse Current reuse support tools are mainly subject to ad hoc/opportunistic reuse Most tools support CBD which can bring benefits to reuse, but none takes reuse as their mission The supporting tools should have a generic framework to guide the systematic reuse process: – Reusable assets creation process • domain analysis and modeling, component development, and asset evolution – Reusable assets management process • asset acquisition, asset cataloging, asset metrics collection, and library operations such as library support procedures, library access control, configuration management, as well as reuse promotion – Reusable assets utilization process • asset requirement determination, asset selection, adaptation, and integration University of Jyväskylä 81 SB Program Result 3: Limited modeling technique support Most tools lacks method engineering support and only provide limited notations (e.g. UML) for system modeling 88% (Hardy, Thompson et al. 1995; Russo and Wynekoop 1995) of the organizations adapt the method-in-house, and 38% (Hardy, Thompson et al. 1995) of organizations have developed their own method Lacks data transmission support between tools University of Jyväskylä 82 SB Program Summary of tool survey Most tools cannot provide an ideal environment that facilitates systematic reuse processes throughout the ISD lifecycle, and lack flexible support for various system development methods One solution is to expand the functionality of current metaCASE environments by adding systematic reuse support The metaCASE environment can be further tailored for a specific application domain to support reuse in a product family University of Jyväskylä 83 SB Program Current situation, related research and research problems Reuse technology – current reuse support in ISD Current tools support for component reuse Research problem definition University of Jyväskylä 84 SB Program Research problems The dissertation aims towards a metaCASE environment, which would support systematic reuse in both the method engineering and systems engineering process. Q1: How can we utilize different reuse techniques and define a conceptual framework that supports systematic reuse in a metaCASE environment? Q2: What is the generic model of reusable components in a metaCASE environment? Q3: What is the needed functionality of an integrated metaCASE environment that supports systematic reuse? University of Jyväskylä 85 SB Program Research environment MetaEdit+ - an industry strength metaCASE environment MetaEdit+ provides tools for – – – – environment management model editing repository browser and method workbench Systematic reuse support is insufficient in MetaEdit+ Component is not clearly defined in both metamodelling level and model level, which hinders systematic reuse. University of Jyväskylä 86 SB Program Outline Introduction Background and terminologies Current situation of the reuse support in ISD Research questions Research methodology Thesis structure and a short summary of each chapter Conclusion and discussions University of Jyväskylä 87 SB Program Multi-methodological research approach Theory building – development of new ideas and concepts, and construction of conceptual frameworks, new methods, or models Experimentation – research strategies such as laboratory and field experiments Observation – empirical methodologies such as case studies, field studies, and sample surveys that are unobtrusive research tasks System development – constructive process consisting of stages like concept design, constructing the architecture of the system, prototyping, product development, and technology transfer -- (Nunamaker and Chen 1991) University of Jyväskylä 88 SB Program Theory building Conceptual frameworks Mathematic models Methods System Development Prototyping, Product development, Technology Transfer Observation Case studies, Survey studies, Field studies Experimentation Field experiments Lab experiments -- A Multi-Methodological Approach to Research Work (Nunamaker and Chen 1991) University of Jyväskylä 89 SB Program Observation Provides an overview of the state of the art – Interviews – by RAMSES project – Survey of (meta)CASE Tools – by COMBO student project University of Jyväskylä 90 SB Program Theory building A systematic reuse architecture in the metaCASE environment – studies the reuse possibilities and types of reuse from both metamodelling (method construction) and modeling (system development) aspects A complete reuse activities in a reuse framework A 3C component model University of Jyväskylä 91 SB Program Systems development Prototype of component construction – Component definition tool Prototype of component retrieval – Component search tool – Component library Prototype of component integration – Component integrated into a domain specific design architecture (defined in experiment case) University of Jyväskylä 92 SB Program Experiments A laboratory experiment has been carried out to study the usability of components in metamodelling supported system analysis and design environment Testing case: user interface design of certain functions of a mobile phone The experimental metaCASE environment is MetaEdit+ University of Jyväskylä 93 SB Program Experiments (Cont.) Selecting a tool and a testing case Developing the testing case by using the selected tool Experiment design Pilot study Recruiting and training participants Conducting the experiment and analyzing data University of Jyväskylä Preparing for a testing case Designing the experiment Conducting the experiment 94 SB Program Outline Introduction Background and terminologies Current situation of the reuse support in ISD Research questions Research methodology Thesis structure and a short summary of each chapter Conclusion and discussions University of Jyväskylä 95 SB Program Dissertation Component Reuse -- Conceptual Foundations and its Applications in the Metamodelling based System Analysis and Design Environment made up of 6 separate papers published or submitted for publication University of Jyväskylä 96 SB Program Thesis structure - table of contents Chp1 Introduction Chp2 A Framework for Component Reuse in a Metamodelling Based Software Development (REJ, 6(2) 2001) Chp3 Defining Components in a MetaCASE Environment (CAiSE*00) Chp4 Component modeling for system analysis and design (ICSR7 2002 Workshop on Component-based Software Development Processes) Chp5 Component Context Specification and Representation in a MetaCASE Environment (submitting to REJ) Chp6 Component analysis in the metamodelling based information systems development (OOPSLA2001 workshop on DSVL) Chp7 Implementation and Evaluation of Component Reuse in Metamodelling Supported System Analysis and Design (Working paper) University of Jyväskylä 97 SB Program Thesis structure - Summary of the research questions and their handling Research Question Research Methodology Chapter Q1: Conceptual framework Observation and Theory building Chp 1 & 2 Q2: Component model Theory building, Chp 1, 3, 4, 5, 6 & 7 Prototyping, Laboratory experiment Q3: Needed facilities University of Jyväskylä Prototyping, Chp 1, 5 & 7 Laboratory experiment 98 SB Program Chapter 2 – Abstract (A Framework for Component Reuse in a Metamodelling Based Software Development ) This chapter aims at suggesting a component reusability framework that can address issues related to design artifact and method component reuse in the lifecycle of systems development. In particular, it seeks to demonstrate how reuse “ideas” can be implemented in an industry strength environment called MetaEdit+. Our strategy to meet these goals is the following. We first develop a general framework for metamodelling based component reuse. This framework considers reuse from the perspectives of a systems development lifecycle, modeling levels, reuse situation types, component granularity, and reuse activities. The framework is then used to analyze support functionality within a metaCASE environment, and to suggest how reuse activities can be integrated into method engineering processes and associated tasks of defining development processes and their technical facilitation. University of Jyväskylä 99 SB Program General architecture for reuse University of Jyväskylä 100 SB Program Reuse Framework University of Jyväskylä 101 SB Program Chapter 3 – Abstract (Defining Components in a MetaCASE Environment ) This chapter suggests component based approach helps unify design artefacts into components with explicit interfaces and meaningful context descriptions. We describe a method artifact from three perspectives: concept, content, and context. We create a component concept by using a hierarchical facet-based schema, and represent contextual relationship types by using definitional and reuse dependency, usage context, and implementation context links. This is the first attempt to explicitly define components into a metaCASE environment. University of Jyväskylä 102 SB Program Component model and its presentation in UML notation University of Jyväskylä 103 SB Program Chapter 4 – Abstract (Component modeling for system analysis and design) Taking into account the features of components and its involved metaCASE environment, This chapter improves the concept and text aspect of the component model by adding more supplementary information and offering more flexibility in its interface description. Such a component model and the associated functionality for component classification and retrieval greatly enhance the possibilities of incorporating reuse and components into the early phases of systems development practice. University of Jyväskylä 104 SB Program 3C Component model University of Jyväskylä 105 SB Program Chapter 5 – Abstract (Component Context Specification and Representation in a MetaCASE Environment) This chapter specifies the context aspect of the component model. It presenting and exemplifying the frameworks of component context and its hypertext representation in MetaEdit+. It addresses the possible linking of contextual knowledge to components, including the conceptual dependencies of component construction, reuse, and implementation, as well as the reasoning and rationale behind design and reuse processes. Furthermore, it illustrates the hypertext approach to contextual knowledge representation, which provides ways for users to express, explore, recognize, and negotiate their shared context. University of Jyväskylä 106 SB Program Chapter 6 – Abstract (Component analysis in the metamodelling based information systems development) This chapter presents the component taxonomy in the metamodelling based systems development environments, such as MetaEdit+. It elaborates on the aspects of structure, functionality, supporting environment, and reusability to analysis and compare between code component, model component, and metamodel component. Through comparison, it presents the current state of component based development in metaCASE environments, and reveals the difficulties and research directions in further research of component based metaCASE environment. University of Jyväskylä 107 SB Program Chapter 7 – Abstract (Implementation and Evaluation of Component Reuse in Metamodelling Supported System Analysis and Design) The last chapter presents an empirical study of componentbased reuse in systems analysis and design. Based on the conceptual framework and 3C component model built in the prior chapters, a testing case is developed and the laboratory experiment is designed to study the usability of components in system analysis and design and the supporting functionality provided by a metaCASE environment. MetaEdit+ is used in the experiment. University of Jyväskylä 108 SB Program Conclusions Contribution and limitations – …… University of Jyväskylä 109 SB Program Interesting research topics - Reuse and agile approach Will reuse be a suitable strategy for project teams taking an agile approach to software development? A lot of work has been done in the context of software reuse on heavyweight domain engineering method; however, there are also approaches such as Extreme Programming (XP), agile modelling, domain specific language that put emphasize on evolution, flexibility, and responsiveness rather than proactive and preplanned generalization. These approaches have been useful at either creating reusable components or at least made it so that systems can quickly evolve and adapt to changing user requirements. University of Jyväskylä 110 SB Program Interesting research topics – Requirements reuse How to apply a reuse based approach to the early phases of systems development, reusing requirements? (http://giro.infor.uva.es/docpub/Doc-Workshop.pdf) Framework? Process? Techniques? …… University of Jyväskylä 111 SB Program Interesting research topics More are coming … … University of Jyväskylä 112
