Rick Mugridge

Tool integration, collaboration and user interaction issues in component-based software architectures

Component based software architectures are becoming increasingly popular solutions for use in a wide range of software applications. Particular areas in which these architectures may provide improved software development support include tool integration, distribution and collaborative work support, and human interaction and end user configuration. However, a number of open research issues exist to do with the deployment of component based solutions in these areas. We review our recent research experiences in deploying component based solutions in these problem domains, and overview potential research directions.

Generating EDI message translations from visual specifications

Electronic data interchange (EDI) systems are used in many domains to support inter-organisational information exchange. To get systems using different EDI message formats to communicate, complex message translations (where data must be transformed from one EDI message format into another), are required. We describe a visual language and support environment which greatly simplify the task of the systems integrator by using a domain-specific visual language to express data formats and format translations. Complex message translations are automated by an underlying transformation engine. We describe the motivation for this system, its key visual language and transformation engine features, a prototype environment, and experience translating it into a commercial product.

Challenges in teaching test driven development

We identify two main challenges in the teaching of Test Driven Development (TDD) over the last two years. The first challenge is to get students to rethink learning and design, and to really engage with this new approach. The second challenge is to explicitly develop their skills in testing, design and refactoring, given that they have little experience in these areas. This requires that fast and effective feedback be provided.

Five challenges in teaching XP

We have successfully run three Extreme Programming Projects with Software Engineering students over the last two years. We introduce five major challenges we encountered when running the projects with year 2 and 3 students, and discuss our (partial) solutions within the context of these projects. We show that XP practices need some adjustment for an educational setting and that the skills required for XP need to be taught before attempting an XP project.

Test driven development and the scientific method

The scientific method serves as a good metaphor for several practices in extreme programming (XP). We explore the commonalities and differences and show that the scientific method, by analogy, can be used to better understand test driven development (and vice versa).

Coordinating distributed software development projects with integrated process modelling and enactment environments

Coordinating distributed software development projects becomes more difficult, as software becomes more complex, team sizes and organisational overheads increase, and software components are sourced from disparate places. We describe the development of a range of software tools to support coordination of such projects. Techniques we use include asynchronous and semi synchronous editing, software process modelling and enactment, developer-specified coordination agents, and component based tool integration.

Petri net based graphical user interface specification tool

PUIST is a specification tool that is being created for software development and software engineering education. It assists user interface designers in specifying the static form and dynamic behaviour of graphical user interfaces (GUI). It also assists teachers in demonstrating specification principles and provides training opportunities for students in software specification and design. The dynamic behaviour of a user interface is specified by a Petri net. The Petri net is also used as a control engine in PUIST to enable rapid prototyping of the user interface.<<ETX>>

A customer test generator for web-based systems

Customer (or acceptance) tests enable the customer to drive the overall design of a required system. We introduce an approach to developing customer tests for web-based applications. The customer specifies such tests through sample web pages. A test may consist of a traversal through a sequence of HTML pages in the required system. This is specified as a trace, defined by following prescribed links or form-submit buttons on each of the pages of the sequence. Isis generates customer tests in Java to verify that each trace occurs in a target system.

Who Should Write Acceptance Tests

Within Extreme Programming, the customer provides acceptance tests and the developers implement the system such that it satisfies the acceptance tests. There are frameworks such as FIT that are intended to empower the customer to write and execute acceptance tests. How effective is this in practice? When and why?

A visual language and environment for EDI message translation

Electronic data interchange (EDI) systems are used in many domains to support inter-organisational information exchange. These systems require complex message translation, where data must be transformed from one EDI message format into another. We describe a visual language and support environment which greatly simplify the task of the systems integrator by using a domain-specific visual language to express translations.