SB Program University of Jyväskylä 1 An Introduction to Component reuse: conceptual foundations and its applications in the metamodelling based system.

SB Program University of Jyväskylä 1 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

SB Program University of Jyväskylä 2 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

SB Program University of Jyväskylä 3 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

SB Program University of Jyväskylä 4 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

SB Program University of Jyväskylä 5 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.

SB Program University of Jyväskylä 6 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?

SB Program University of Jyväskylä 7 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

SB Program University of Jyväskylä 8 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+

SB Program University of Jyväskylä 9 Dissertation - Title Component Reuse Conceptual Foundations and its Applications in the Metamodelling based System Analysis and Design Environment

SB Program University of Jyväskylä 10 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

SB Program University of Jyväskylä 11 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

SB Program University of Jyväskylä 12 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

SB Program University of Jyväskylä 13 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

SB Program University of Jyväskylä 14 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

SB Program University of Jyväskylä 16 Basic Concepts  Information system development (ISD)  CASE and metaCASE tools  Component based systems engineering (CBSE)  Reuse in ISD

SB Program University of Jyväskylä 17 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. FOD TS Implementation Mapping Reverse Conceptulization

SB Program University of Jyväskylä 18 How can we think of systems development? (Cont.)  Notion –Reality –Conceptual structure –Description language –Target systems  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

SB Program University of Jyväskylä 19 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)

SB Program University of Jyväskylä 20  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

SB Program University of Jyväskylä 21  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.)

SB Program University of Jyväskylä 22 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

SB Program University of Jyväskylä 23 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

SB Program University of Jyväskylä 25 CASE - an acronym with many interpretations... Computer Engineering Software [Software] System [Information] Systems Assisted Aided Automated “CASE is use of computer-based support in the software development process” (SEI, 1996)

SB Program University of Jyväskylä 26 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)

SB Program University of Jyväskylä 27 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

SB Program University of Jyväskylä 28 Tool support for models

SB Program University of Jyväskylä 29 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

SB Program University of Jyväskylä 30 Example – CASE tool  MetaEdit+ offers CASE tool support for the defined method. It provides diagramming editors, browsers, generators, multi-user support, etc

SB Program University of Jyväskylä 31 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

SB Program University of Jyväskylä 32 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

SB Program University of Jyväskylä 33 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

SB Program University of Jyväskylä 34 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

SB Program University of Jyväskylä 35 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.

SB Program University of Jyväskylä 36 Model and metamodel

SB Program University of Jyväskylä 37 Modeling and metamodeling Metamodelling and modeling in a metaCASE environment (after (Brinkkemper 1990)) Metamodellin g language Modelling language

SB Program University of Jyväskylä 38 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.

SB Program University of Jyväskylä 39 What is a metaCASE environment? 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. MetaEdit+ metaCASE tool allows you to design your method and use it.

SB Program University of Jyväskylä 41 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

SB Program University of Jyväskylä 42 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

SB Program University of Jyväskylä 43 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  … …

SB Program University of Jyväskylä 44 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)

SB Program University of Jyväskylä 45 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)

SB Program University of Jyväskylä 46 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.

SB Program University of Jyväskylä 47 CBD Activities and Artifacts

SB Program University of Jyväskylä 48 Scope of component-based design and techniques (Sterling Software, 1999)

SB Program University of Jyväskylä 49 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

SB Program University of Jyväskylä 51 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

SB Program University of Jyväskylä 52 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.

SB Program University of Jyväskylä 53 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

SB Program University of Jyväskylä 54 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

SB Program University of Jyväskylä 55 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

SB Program University of Jyväskylä 56 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

SB Program University of Jyväskylä 57 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

SB Program University of Jyväskylä 58 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

SB Program University of Jyväskylä 59 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

SB Program University of Jyväskylä 61 Current situation, related research and research problems  Reuse technology – current reuse support in ISD  Current tools support for component reuse  Research problems

SB Program University of Jyväskylä 62 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

SB Program University of Jyväskylä 63 Comparison of reuse techniques (part) StrengthWeakness 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)

SB Program University of Jyväskylä 64 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

SB Program University of Jyväskylä 65 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

SB Program University of Jyväskylä 66 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 --- MetaCASE Consulting, 2001 Faster development of quality products!

SB Program University of Jyväskylä 67 Modeling domain vs. modeling code Domain Idea Finished Product Solve problem in domain terms Assembler Map to code, implement UML Model Map to UML Generate, Add bodies Components Domain Model Generate calls to components No map! Code Map to code, implement --- MetaCASE Consulting, 2001

SB Program University of Jyväskylä 68 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)

SB Program University of Jyväskylä 69 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.

SB Program University of Jyväskylä 70 Why component based development  Reuse  Deal with change  Manage complexity  Create commerce in component -- (SEI, 2002)

SB Program University of Jyväskylä 71 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)

SB Program University of Jyväskylä 72 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)

SB Program University of Jyväskylä 73 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)

SB Program University of Jyväskylä 74 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 –See previous two slides -- (SEI, 2002)

SB Program University of Jyväskylä 75 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

SB Program University of Jyväskylä 76 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

SB Program University of Jyväskylä 77 Current situation, related research and research problems  Reuse technology – current reuse support in ISD  Current tools support for component reuse  Research problem definition

SB Program University of Jyväskylä 78 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

SB Program University of Jyväskylä 79 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

SB Program University of Jyväskylä 80 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

SB Program University of Jyväskylä 81 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 

SB Program University of Jyväskylä 82 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

SB Program University of Jyväskylä 83 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

SB Program University of Jyväskylä 84 Current situation, related research and research problems  Reuse technology – current reuse support in ISD  Current tools support for component reuse  Research problem definition

SB Program University of Jyväskylä 85 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?

SB Program University of Jyväskylä 86 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.

SB Program University of Jyväskylä 88 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)

SB Program University of Jyväskylä 89 Observation Case studies, Survey studies, Field studies Experimentation Field experiments Lab experiments Theory building Conceptual frameworks Mathematic models Methods System Development Prototyping, Product development, Technology Transfer -- A Multi-Methodological Approach to Research Work (Nunamaker and Chen 1991)

SB Program University of Jyväskylä 90 Observation  Provides an overview of the state of the art –Interviews – by RAMSES project –Survey of (meta)CASE Tools – by COMBO student project

SB Program University of Jyväskylä 91 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

SB Program University of Jyväskylä 92 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)

SB Program University of Jyväskylä 93 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+

SB Program University of Jyväskylä 94 Experiments (Cont.) Selecting a tool and a testing case Preparing for a testing case Designing the experiment Conducting the experiment Developing the testing case by using the selected tool Experiment design Pilot study Recruiting and training participants Conducting the experiment and analyzing data

SB Program University of Jyväskylä 96 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

SB Program University of Jyväskylä 97 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)

SB Program University of Jyväskylä 98 Thesis structure - Summary of the research questions and their handling Research QuestionResearch Methodology Chapter Q1: Conceptual framework Observation and Theory building Chp 1 & 2 Q2: Component modelTheory building, Prototyping, Laboratory experiment Chp 1, 3, 4, 5, 6 & 7 Q3: Needed facilitiesPrototyping, Laboratory experiment Chp 1, 5 & 7

SB Program University of Jyväskylä 99 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.

SB Program University of Jyväskylä 100 General architecture for reuse

SB Program University of Jyväskylä 101 Reuse Framework

SB Program University of Jyväskylä 102 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.

SB Program University of Jyväskylä 103 Component model and its presentation in UML notation

SB Program University of Jyväskylä 104 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.

SB Program University of Jyväskylä 105 3C Component model

SB Program University of Jyväskylä 106 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.

SB Program University of Jyväskylä 107 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.

SB Program University of Jyväskylä 108 Chapter 7 – Abstract ( Implementation and Evaluation of Component Reuse in Metamodelling Supported System Analysis and Design )  The last chapter presents an empirical study of component- based 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.

SB Program University of Jyväskylä 109 Conclusions  Contribution and limitations –… …

SB Program University of Jyväskylä 110 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.

SB Program University of Jyväskylä 111 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)http://giro.infor.uva.es/docpub/Doc-Workshop.pdf  Framework?  Process?  Techniques?  … …

SB Program University of Jyväskylä 112 Interesting research topics  More are coming … …

SB Program University of Jyväskylä 1 An Introduction to Component reuse: conceptual foundations and its applications in the metamodelling based system.

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SB Program University of Jyväskylä 1 An Introduction to Component reuse: conceptual foundations and its applications in the metamodelling based system.

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Presentation on theme: "SB Program University of Jyväskylä 1 An Introduction to Component reuse: conceptual foundations and its applications in the metamodelling based system."— Presentation transcript:

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