Harry Koehnemann

Automated process support for organizational and personal processes

We propose two views on process: an organizational view and a personal process view. Information technology applies Automated Workflow technology to define, execute, and track an organization’s automated business processes. Calendaring tools provide a form of personal process view through scheduled work items. However, the personal, or individual, view of the process space has largely been ignored. We maintain that as organizations become increasingly decentralized, a single organization’s process space is becoming difficult to recognize. Individuals of the organization are asked to do work that spans organizational, functional, and even geographic boundaries. An integrated view of organizational workflows and personal processes is needed to address these new demands. In this paper we argue for the need to integrate organizational and personal processes. We then propose a component-based process modeling approach and supporting process architecture that integrates these process spaces. Finally, we describe our recent efforts at developing Java prototype process tools that realize the proposed modeling technique and supporting architecture.

Component-based software process support

Only recently has the research community started to consider how to make software process models interoperable and reusable. The task is difficult Software processes are inherently creative and dynamic difficult to define and repeat at an enactable level of detail. Additionally, interoperability and reusability have not been considered important issues. Recent interoperability and reusability solutions advocate the development of standard process model representations based on common concepts or generic schemas, which are used as a basis for translating between heterogeneous process representations. The authors propose an alternative approach through the development of process-based components. They present the Open Process Components Framework, a component based framework for software process modeling. In this approach, process models are constructed as sets of components which interact in meaningful ways. Interoperability and reuse are obtained through encapsulation of process representations, an explicit representation of process state, and an extendable set of class relationships.

Towards target-level testing and debugging tools for embedded software

The current process for testing and debugging embedded sojware is ine~ective at revealing errors. There are currently huge costs associated with the validation of embedded applications. Despite the huge costs, the most dl~cult errors to reveal and locate are found extremely late in the testing process, making them even more costly to repm”r. This paper first presents a discussion of embedded testing research andpractice. This discussion raises a need to improve the existing process and tools for embe&@i testing as well as enable better processes and tools for the jWure. To fmilitate this improvement, architectural and software capabilities which support testing and &bugging with minimal intrusion on the executing system must be developed. Execution visibility and control must come @om the underlying system, which should ofJer interjbces to testing and debugging tools in the same numner it offers them to a compiler. Finally we propose txtenswns to the underlying system, which consists of adiiitions to both the architecture and run-time system that will help reulize target-level tools.

Component framework for Web-based learning environments

As an emerging technology, distributed software components hold promise for software interoperability, composition and reuse. This paper reports on applying distributed components as a paradigm for realizing technology enriched learning. We present a background of software components together with a framework for realizing World Wide Web-based learning components. Primarily, the web provides a data-centric interface to learning participants. An activity-centric view is more typical in object-based systems and for many learners. We show how automated support for workflow can be applied to achieve activity-based learning components on the web. One of the primary goals of the framework is that it is open to utilize various services already commonly in place in a university setting. We exemplify some of the common framework services and discuss how these can be adapted to a specific organization or extended to achieve discipline specific services.

Work-in-progress: Embedding entrepreneurship in the computing curricula

Two projects at Arizona State University at the Polytechnic campus blend a range of student engagement activities to promote entrepreneurship. The first, ldquofrom .EDU to .COMrdquo, engages students with industry entrepreneurs through on-campus events (colloquia and a Polytechnic showcase event), student engagement projects with SMEs, and internships. The second, ldquoAgile Methods for Entrepreneurshiprdquo proposes curricular modifications, cohort programs with the Polytechnicpsilas business school, lab-oriented practice with ASUpsilas University Technology Office, and an off-campus 2-day workshop with students and real-world entrepreneurs, among other activities. Besides being housed in the same academic unit, these projects also share a common, differentiating approach. First, both emphasize a ldquolearn by doingrdquo approach consistent with the Polytechnic mission. Second, both engage students in entrepreneurship through a variety of activities. We believe the latter point is especially important; in our view entrepreneurship is often promoted through a single highly visible activity. Our approach embeds entrepreneurship across the spectrum of student engagement. This reflects our belief that students must engage repeatedly with entrepreneurs to understand and adopt this cultural norm. In this paper we describe our entrepreneurial engagement activities and discuss preliminary results from the first year of our experience.

Runtime control of Ada rendezvous for testing and debugging

A substantial portion of effort in the development of software lies in the testing and debugging phase. To increase reliability and efficiency in this area, tools have been developed that give engineers control of the execution of programs. These tools support their respective processes in the lifecycle by allowing testers and debuggers to control, view, and modify objects in the executing program during runtime. With the addition of concurrent objects to programming languages like Ada, these tools will soon need the power to control these objects during runtime. This paper examines the additional capabilities needed by testing and debugging tools to accommodate Adas rendezvous, as well as potential implementation techniques.<<ETX>>

A Tool for Teaching Risk

Students tend to think optimistically about the software they construct. They believe the software will be defect free, and underestimate apparent risks to the development process. In the Software Enterprise, a 4-course upper division project sequence, student team failures to predict and prevent these risks lead to various problems like schedule delays, frustration, and dissatisfaction from external customer sponsors. The Enterprise uses the IBM Rational Jazz platform, but it does not have a native risk management capability. Instead, project teams were recording risks associated with their projects on paper reports. To facilitate maintaining and managing the risks associated with their projects, we developed a risk management component in the Jazz environment. This component complements Jazz by providing features of the risk management process like risk control and monitoring. The risk management component was used and evaluated by student capstone project teams.