The engineering of an object-oriented software development methodology

EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Generic Process Framework for Developing High-Integrity Software

Abstract. In high-integrity systems, certain quality requirements have gained utmost significance in such a way that failing to satisfy them at a particular level may result in the loss of the entire system, endangerment of human life, peril to the organization's existence, or serious damage to the environment. High-integrity computer systems should incorporate top-quality software in order to adequately address their stringent quality requirements. The methodologies used for developing high-integrity software must possess special characteristics in order to ensure successful realization of the requirements. Software Process patterns represent empirically proven methods of software development that can be exploited as reusable chunks to produce bespoke methodologies, tailored to fit specific project situations and requirements. The authors provide a set of process patterns extracted from methodologies and standards which are specifically intended for developing high-integrity systems. The methodologies and standards which were used as resources for extracting these patterns were selected based on their history of successful application. The patterns have been organized into a generic High Integrity Software Development Process (HISDP); this process framework can be instantiated by method engineers to produce tailored-to-fit methodologies for developing high-integrity software

An Analytical Review of Process-Centered Software Engineering Environments

Process-centered Software Engineering Environments, or PSEEs, are intended for the definition, modification, and enactment of software process models; they thus bring software development processes into effect. Even though research efforts in process-centered software engineering abound, PSEE technology has not received the attention that it deserves. In order to create a concise but effective and practically applicable evaluation framework for PSEEs, this paper first presents a survey of PSEEs and highlights the current state of the art of the technology. The PSEEs which have been reviewed herein have been regarded as software systems, and as such, have been characterized in terms of their requirements. After providing a conceptual critique of the scope and nature of conventional PSEEs, a detailed criteria-based evaluation of a select set of several recent PSEEs has been conducted. The evaluation criteria have been derived from PSEE requirements and the results of the critique, and have then been refined and evolved into the final criterion set

On Understanding the Relation of Knowledge and Confidence to Requirements Quality

Context and Motivation: Software requirements are affected by the knowledge and confidence of software engineers. Analyzing the interrelated impact of these factors is difficult because of the challenges of assessing knowledge and confidence. Question/Problem: This research aims to draw attention to the need for considering the interrelated effects of confidence and knowledge on requirements quality, which has not been addressed by previous publications. Principal ideas/results: For this purpose, the following steps have been taken: 1) requirements quality was defined based on the instructions provided by the ISO29148:2011 standard, 2) we selected the symptoms of low qualified requirements based on ISO29148:2011, 3) we analyzed five Software Requirements Specification (SRS) documents to find these symptoms, 3) people who have prepared the documents were categorized in four classes to specify the more/less knowledge and confidence they have regarding the symptoms, and 4) finally, the relation of lack of enough knowledge and confidence to symptoms of low quality was investigated. The results revealed that the simultaneous deficiency of confidence and knowledge has more negative effects in comparison with a deficiency of knowledge or confidence. Contribution: In brief, this study has achieved these results: 1) the realization that a combined lack of knowledge and confidence has a larger effect on requirements quality than only one of the two factors, 2) the relation between low qualified requirements and requirements engineers' needs for knowledge and confidence, and 3) variety of requirements engineers' needs for knowledge based on their abilities to make discriminative and consistent decisions.Comment: Preprint accepted for publication at the 27th International Working Conference on Requirement Engineering: Foundation for Software Qualit

Process Patterns for Web Engineering

Abstract-Web Engineering has been enriched with processes and modeling languages that focus on the specific features of web-based systems, taking into account the special requirements and constraints that are associated with this specific context. Process Patterns, on the other hand, represent elements of knowledge and experience in software engineering; they also act as reusable method chunks that can be used for constructing bespoke methodologies that are tailored to fit specific project situations. We propose a set of process patterns based on current web development practices. A number of prominent web development methodologies have been studied, and a set of process patterns has been elicited through abstracting their commonalities and identifying the essential activities required in a web engineering endeavor. Furthermore, a web-based systems development framework has been proposed that organizes these patterns into a generic lifecycle. The process patterns can be instantiated and assembled into a high-level development process based on the generic framework proposed

Process Patterns for AspectOriented Software Development

Abstract-Focusing on aspects during early stages of the software development lifecycle has received special attention by many researchers, leading to the advent of numerous Aspect-Oriented Software Development (AOSD) methods. This has consequently given a relatively high level of maturity to aspect-oriented processes. Process patterns, on the other hand, have been adopted as suitable mechanisms for defining or tailoring processes to fit specific organizational/project requirements. Process patterns, which essentially are reusable process components extracted from successful processes and practices, can be used to engineer new software development methodologies or to enhance existing ones. We propose a generic Aspect-Oriented Software Process (AOSP), constructed through studying and abstracting prominent aspect-oriented processes. Based on the proposed AOSP, process patterns are provided which incorporate wellestablished aspect-oriented practices for different development stages. By employing specific process evaluation criteria, the characteristics of these patterns have been analyzed

FRAME: A Generic Fractal Process Metamodel for Agile Methodologies

Summary. The widespread need for flexibility and adaptability in software development processes has resulted in the emergence of Agile practices and principles. Although different in fine-grained detail, all agile methodologies follow a common approach in their processes. To expose the common paradigm behind the design of agile processes, we have developed FRAME (FRactal Agile MEtamodel), a generic fractal process metamodel for agile process frameworks. Recursive application of FRAME at different levels of process design results in the specification of a configurable process framework; this framework serves as a basis for constructing agile methodologies through paradigm-based Situational Method Engineering (SME). In order to explore how FRAME is manifest in existing agile processes, relevant activity patterns have been extracted from seven prominent agile processes, thus forming a repository of concrete FRAME components

Ramsin, “Using Design Patterns for Refactoring RealWorld Models

Abstract-Many software development methodologies are based on modeling the real world. In some of these methodologies, real-world models are gradually transformed into software models, while in others, the real world is only considered as a preliminary source of insight into the physical business domain. Real-world modeling was pushed to the sidelines due to anomalies in real-world modeling approaches; however, with the advent of the Model-Driven Architecture (MDA), real-world conceptual modeling is likely to regain its importance. We propose a method for using Design Patterns in the context of model transformation, where real-world models are refactored through application of these patterns. Although the patterns are not applied in their original contexts, we show through examples that they are equally applicable to real-world models

Ramsin, “Using Design Patterns for Refactoring RealWorld Models

Abstract-Many software development methodologies are based on modeling the real world. In some of these methodologies, real-world models are gradually transformed into software models, while in others, the real world is only considered as a preliminary source of insight into the physical business domain. Real-world modeling was pushed to the sidelines due to anomalies in real-world modeling approaches; however, with the advent of the Model-Driven Architecture (MDA), real-world conceptual modeling is likely to regain its importance. We propose a method for using Design Patterns in the context of model transformation, where real-world models are refactored through application of these patterns. Although the patterns are not applied in their original contexts, we show through examples that they are equally applicable to real-world models