Supporting Collaborative Development Using Process Models: A Tool Integration-Focused Approach

International audienceCollaboration in software engineering projects is usually intensive and requires adequate support by well-integrated tools. However, process-centered software engineering environ ments (PSEE) have traditionallybeen designed to exploit integration facilities in other tools, while offering themselves little to no such facilities.This is in line with the vision of the PSEE as the central orchestrator of project support tools. We argue that thisview has hindered the widespread adoption of process-based collaboration support tools by incurring too muchadoption and switching costs. We propose a new process-based collaboration support architecture, backed by aprocess metamodel, that can easily be integrated with existing tools. The proposed architecture revolves aroundthe central concepts of ‘deep links’ and ‘hooks’. Our approach is validated by analyzing a collection of open-source projects, and integration utilities based on the implemented process model server have been developed

The EuQoS system: A solution for QoS routing in heterogeneous networks

EuQoS is the acronym for “end-to-end quality of service support over heterogeneous networks,”which is a European research project aimed at building an entire QoS framework,addressing all the relevant network layers, protocols, and technologies. This framework, which includes the most common access networks (xDSL, UMTS, WiFi, and LAN) is being prototyped and tested in a multidomain scenario throughout Europe, composing what we call the EuQoS system. In this article we present the novel QoS routing mechanisms that are being developed and evaluated in the framework of this project. The preliminary performance results validate the design choices of the EuQoS system, and confirm the potential impact this project is likely to have in the near future.Postprint (published version

Conception et validation d'une architecture de signalisation pour la garantie de qualité de service dans l'Internet multi-domaine, multi-technologie et multi-service

During the last years, computer science and telecommunications joint technological evolutions led to a perspective change in the area of communications and networks. One of the consequences of this progress is the convergence towards a sole infrastructure for data exchange. Due to its continuous development, Internet (IP) appears as the solution for interconnecting different heterogeneous technologies, short or long distance, fixe or mobile, the global infrastructure for communication transport. Internet supports many new types of applications: dynamic, multimedia, real time, distributed, potentially multi-user, mobile, such as voice over IP (VoIP), video on demand (VoD), visio conference, interactive games, etc. The general concerns addressed by our work result from this context. Our objective is to define and implement new mechanisms, protocols and architectures to answer the needs of emergent applications. Our proposals contribute to mastering the end-to-end Quality of Service (QoS) in a multi-level heterogeneous environment, by addressing the current need of inter-domain signalling coupled with provisioning and admission control, to meet the traffic requirements. In this context, we participated in the design, development, deployment and validation of the architecture defined within the European project IST EuQoS ("End-to-end Quality of Service support over heterogeneous networks").Depuis quelques années, les évolutions technologiques conjointes de l'informatique et des télécommunications ont conduit à une mutation de la perspective des communications et des réseaux. Une des conséquences de ces progrès est la convergence vers une infrastructure unique de transfert de données. Porté par son développement continu, l'Internet (IP) se révèle comme la solution pour l'interconnexion des différentes technologies hétérogènes, petite ou grande distance, fixe ou mobiles, l'infrastructure globale pour toute communication. L'Internet est devenu le support de nombreux nouveaux types d'applications dynamiques, multimédias, temps réels, distribuées, potentiellement multi utilisateurs, mobiles, comme la voix sur IP (VoIP), la vidéo à la demande (VoD), la visioconférence, les jeux interactifs, la simulation distribuée etc. De ce contexte résulte la problématique générale de nos travaux qui est de définir et de mettre en Suvre des nouveaux mécanismes, protocoles et architectures pour répondre aux besoins des applications émergentes. Nos contributions s'inscrivent dans ce thème de la maîtrise de la garantie de la Qualité de Service (QoS) de bout en bout dans un environnement Internet hétérogène à plusieurs niveaux : multi domaine, multi technologie et multi service. Nous adressons le besoin des nouvelles architectures en signalisation inter domaine couplée au provisionnement et au contrôle d'admission pour répondre aux besoins du trafic et des services actuels. Dans ce cadre, nous avons participé à la conception, l'implémentation, le déploiement et la validation de l'architecture du projet européen IST EuQoS (" End-to-end Quality of Service support over heterogeneous networks ")

Conception et validation d'une architecture de signalisation pour la garantie de qualité de service dans l'Internet multi-domaine, multi-technologie et multi-service

Depuis quelques années, les évolutions technologiques conjointes de l informatique et des télécommunications ont conduit à une modification substantielle des communications et des réseaux. Une des conséquences de ces progrès est la convergence vers une infrastructure unique de transfert de données. Porté par son développement continu, l Internet (IP) se révèle comme solution pour l interconnexion des différentes technologies hétérogènes, petite ou grande distance, fixe ou mobiles, l infrastructure globale pour tout type de communication. De ce contexte résulte la problématique générale de nos travaux qui est de définir et de mettre en oeuvre des nouveaux mécanismes, protocoles et architectures pour répondre aux besoins des applications émergentes. Nos contributions s inscrivent dans ce thème de la maîtrise de la garantie de la Qualité de Service (QoS) de bout en bout dans un environnement Internet hétérogène à plusieurs niveaux : multi domaine, multi technologie et multi service. Nous adressons le besoin des nouvelles architectures en signalisation inter domaine couplée au provisionnement et au contrôle d admission pour répondre aux besoins du trafic et des services actuels. Dans ce cadre, nous avons participé à la conception, l'implémentation, le déploiement et la validation de l'architecture du projet européen IST EuQoS ( End-to-end Quality of Service support over heterogeneous networks )During the last years, computer science and telecommunications joint technological evolutions led to a perspective change in the area of communications and networks. One of the consequences of this progress is the convergence towards a sole infrastructure for data exchange. Due to its continuous development, Internet (IP) appears as the solution for interconnecting different heterogeneous technologies, short or long distance, fixe or mobile, the global infrastructure for communication transport. Internet supports many new types of applications: dynamic, multimedia, real time, distributed, potentially multi-user, mobile, such as voice over IP (VoIP), video on demand (VoD), visio conference, interactive games, etc. The general concerns addressed by our work result from this context. Our objective is to define and implement new mechanisms, protocols and architectures to answer the needs of emergent applications. Our proposals contribute to mastering the end-toend Quality of Service (QoS) in a multi-level heterogeneous environment, by addressing the current need of inter-domain signalling coupled with provisioning and admission control, to meet the traffic requirements. In this context, we participated in the design, development, deployment and validation of the architecture defined within the European project IST EuQoS ( End-to-end Quality of Service support over heterogeneous networks ).INIST-CNRS (INIST), under shelf-number: RP 17272 / SudocSudocFranceF

The EuQoS System

The European research project End-to-End Quality-of-Service support over heterogeneous networks (EuQoS) defined a novel architecture that builds, uses and manages the end-to-end (e2e) application exchanges and network paths with Quality-of-Service (QoS) guarantees across different administrative domains and heterogeneous networks. This chapter presents the architecture of the EuQoS system as a case study of the concepts introduced in previous chapters. The EuQoS architecture provides a clear interface that allows the end user to request a specific QoS level, without changing its application signalling protocol and using the basic connectivity of the local service provider. A complete set of supporting functions was implemented: (i) Security, Authentication, Authorisation and Accounting (SAAA); (ii) Admission Control; (iii) Charging; (iv) Signalling and Service Negotiation; (v) Monitoring and Measurements Functions and System (MMF/MMS); (vi) QoS Routing (QoSR); (vii) Failure Management; and (viii) Traffic Engineering and Resource Optimisation (TERO). The EuQoS system was deployed as a prototype including all the above features, encompassing the most common access networks, i.e., xDSL, UMTS, WiFi and Ethernet, connected through a core network composed by the National Research and Education Networks (NRENs) of the project partners and GÉANT (the European research network). This section describes the main features of the EuQoS system and presents the mechanisms, algorithms and protocols that were developed in the project. The results achieved validate the design choices of the EuQoS system, and confirm the potential impact that this project is likely to have in the near future

KP-LAB Knowledge Practices Laboratory -- Release of end-user tools

deliverablesThis deliverable describes the releases of KP-Lab end user applications and tools made during the DoW4 period of the project (M37-M48). These are as follows: KPE: Shared Space Views and Common, Support and Optional Tools provide the major functionality for the Knowledge Practices Environment. The Shared Space Views visualize the knowledge artefacts and their relations from different perspective, allowing users to view and access the information contained in a shared space in flexible manners. Common tools refer to the tightly integrated tools of KPE, which are available inside a shared space for working with knowledge artefacts. The support tools provide generic supplementary functionality to Shared Space Views and other KP-Lab tools, such as awareness, search, help as well as preference and settings. The optional tools provide functionality to support some specific aspects of or types of knowledge creation processes, such as real-time collaborative writing, activity system design, multimedia annotation and visual modelling. KPE Analytic tools provide means for two main categories of analytic facilities: 1) Data export tool (DE) for automatic data collection for its analysis in any third party tools and 2) Timeline-based analyzer (TLBA) and Visual analyzer (VA) for integrated reflection on knowledge creation processes and their analysis. * Data Export tool allows researchers and teachers to extract summary tables of user activities from the KPE for on-line investigation, and to export them for elaborations with any third party tool for analysis. In order to bring this tool closer to casual users (students, teachers or workers), the visual presentation of relations between KPE users has been added in the last period. * Visual analyzer allows users to analyze participation and activities within past or ongoing knowledge creation processes, by visually representing them based on information stored in the produced logs. More precisely, it visualizes frequencies of object-related activities in KPE and provides detailed information on the nature and type of the activities performed on particular (types of) knowledge objects. These visualizations stimulate teachers and students to reflect on the distribution and types of their activities with respect to time, type of object or subject etc. * Timeline-based analyzer allows users to display chronologically events that were recorded by the KPE tools, to define and store possible external events which could not have been recorded by the KPE tools and to define patterns of actions that can be identified in the historical data. In contrast to Visual Analyzer and Data Export tools, TLBA brings chronological overview of user actions into the user interface, which enables users to see and explore what kind of activities were performed on certain object in the shared space of interest. Activity System Design Tools (ASDT) enable users to look to the history, present and future of their work activity in a way that helps address issues critical for deliberate transformation of prevailing practices (according to the Change Laboratory intervention method). ASDT is a plug-in to Knowledge Practices Environment, utilizing its views and functionalities. In addition, ASDT has a specific view, Virtual whiteboard, which is designed based on the key elements of a developmental work research process and its conceptual tools. Semantic Multimedia Annotation Tool (SMAT) is a rich internet application that facilitates an individuals or a groups activity of assigning annotations to the document fragments. The tools allow users to plan and organise their annotation activity, structure any multimedia document by dividing it into fragments, annotate the document formally, informally or by linking external documents to specific anchors, as well as to analyse structurally and statistically annotations and visualize analysis results. SMAT is adaptable to the users domain. Meeting Support Tools propose new approaches to meeting practices. They support the preparation, execution and analysis of meetings (face-to-face and remote) by capturing synchronous and asynchronous interactions through the collaborative elaboration of "discussion maps". Map-It allows the use of meeting templates, advance individual preparations, share of artifacts, planning and follow-up of actions, automatic generation of meeting minutes in various formats. M2T, a rich internet application, provides analytical facilities for exploring meeting practices instrumented using Map-It and their integration in larger-scope activities, by connecting them to other KP-Lab concepts, visualisations (KPEs Content Views) and tools (ToDo). This deliverable provides the general description of tools in terms of targeted users, requirements for the use, new features, known issues, as well as deviations from the DII.8 specifications. More details can be found through the material available in the project intranet at: http://www.kp-lab.org/intranet/testable-tools/kp-lab-tools