Rita Suzana Pitangueira Maciel

An Integrated Approach for Model Driven Process Modeling and Enactment

The adoption of MDA in software development is increasing and is widely recognized as an important approach for building software systems. However, theres a lack of standard terminology and notation addressing design aspects of an MDA process. The available MDA tools and environments are particularly focused in defining and executing model transformations, while a development process involves other important definitions which should be carried out during the process enactment. This paper presents an integrated approach for MDA process modeling and enactment based on specializations of some SPEM 2 concepts. To support and evaluate our approach a tool was developed and applied in two case studies.

WGWSOA: A Service-Oriented Middleware Architecture to support Groupware Interoperability

Collaborative Systems are applications that demand for the distribution support of their resources. Usually, middle-wares have been deployed as a development platform for such applications. In spite of manipulating objects (documents, meetings, agenda, discussion list, etc.) with same semantics, it is not possible for an application to access both objects and data of another distinguishable application, even though they have been built by the use of the same middleware platform. The complexity of this scenario becomes larger when we idealize a project that demand for the interoperability of groupware applications developed by the use of distinct middlewares. The goal of this paper is to present an architecture based on middleware services -named WGWSOA (Web-based Groupware Service Oriented Architecture) -for Collaborative Systems. From this architecture, we hope to offer specific services in order to leverage the interoperability concerns of such systems.

Software requirements selection and prioritization using SBSE approaches

A recent trend to use multi-objective modeling.The most frequent problem is related to releases.Meta-heuristics is the technique most commonly applied method in experiments.Aspects related to risk and uncertainties need to be considered in problem formulation.The majority of experiments use small scale data type. The selection and prioritization of software requirements represents an area of interest in Search-Based Software Engineering (SBSE) and its main focus is finding and selecting a set of requirements that may be part of a software release. This paper presents a systematic review and mapping that investigated, analyzed, categorized and classified the SBSE approaches that have been proposed to address software requirement selection and prioritization problems, reporting quantitative and qualitative assessment. Initially 39 papers returned from our search strategy in this area and they were analyzed by 18 previously established quality criteria. The results of this systematic review show which aspects of the requirements selection and prioritization problems were addressed by researchers, which approaches and search techniques are currently adopted to address these problems, as well as the strengths and weaknesses in this research area highlighted from the quality criteria.

A Systematic Review of Software Requirements Selection and Prioritization Using SBSE Approaches

Selection and prioritization of software requirements represents an area of interest in Search-Based Software Engineering SBSE and its main focus is finding and selecting a set of requirements that may be part of a software release. This paper uses a systematic review to investigate which SBSE approaches have been proposed to address software requirement selection and prioritization problems. The search strategy identified 30 articles in this area and they were analyzed for 18 previously established quality criteria. The results of this systematic review show which aspects of the requirements selection and prioritization problems were addressed by researchers, the methods approaches and search techniques currently adopted to address these problems, and the strengths and weaknesses of each of these techniques. The review provides a map showing the gaps and trends in the field, which can be useful to guide further research.

Supporting model-driven development using a process-centered software engineering environment

The adoption of Model-Driven Development (MDD) is increasing and it is widely recognized as an important approach for building software systems. In addition to traditional development process models, an MDD process requires the selection of metamodels and mapping rules for the generation of the transformation chain which produces models and application code. In this context, software process tasks should be performed in a specific sequence, with the correct input artifacts to produce the output ones. However, existing support tools and transformation engines for MDD do not have a process-centered focus that addresses different kinds of software process activities, such as application modeling and testing to guide the developers. Furthermore, they do not enable process modeling nor the (semi) automated execution of activities during process enactment. The MoDErNE (Model Driven Process-Centered Software Engineering Environment) uses process-centered software engineering environment concepts to improve MDD process specification and enactment by using a metamodeling foundation. In MoDErNE, a software process model may be enacted several times in different software projects. This paper details the MoDErNE environment, its approach and architecture and also the case studies through which the tool was evaluated.

Using Process-Level Use Case Diagrams to Infer the Business Motivation Model with a RUP-Based Approach

Building a business model for a software-based information system in ill-defined contexts is close to an impossible mission. Our recent work in eliciting and managing requirements from a process-perspective allows deriving a logical architecture but fails to provide a business and strategic view of the system. Adaptation of standard techniques to infer goals and requirements from scenarios and process-like diagrams, mapping backwardly the traditional business to process workflow, could help in building a business model and defining a strategy for the information system. We extend our V-Model approach with a Business Motivation Model representation, guided by a RUP-based backward transformation from process to business, so allowing for better and continuous alignment between Business and IS/IT, with improved traceability.

Modden: An Integrated Approach for Model Driven Development and Software Product Line Processes

In a Software Product Line reuse should be considered from the artifacts conception stage and, when implemented, these artifacts can be part of a library to be further reused by every domain application. In a model-driven context an application development can be seen as a set of transformations that lead to a final system. However, during the transformation process reuse techniques are not usually considered. Modden is a SPL approach that uses model-driven techniques. Through the integration of these two approaches we aim to enhance model-driven techniques by the reuse of models, code, transformation rules and so on. As a result, Modden aims to leverage the reuse of these artifacts in different software development process phases. It comprises two processes, one to develop core assets and another to develop specific assets for the product line, a SPL UML profile and a model driven development supporting tool.

InterDOC: reference architecture for interoperable services in collaborative writing environments

Groups that work on cooperative applications frequently construct and provide documents. Although these environments manipulate the same kind of artifact (a document), they are not usually interoperable due to the implementation of different policies, protocols or infrastructure. Therefore, it is hard for users to use different collaborative systems to work on a single shared document and share several necessary information for the accomplishment of a collaborative authoring process that the involved tools offer separately. Towards such an interoperation, we propose the InterDOC (environment for supporting interoperability of collaborative document authoring tools) reference architecture and environment. Using InterDOC, a group of authors can write a document in their favorite environment and can then make this document available via InterDOC to another group of authors using another environment, or even a single user application. We use OMG MDA in order to obtain platform-independent reference architecture.

Applying a model-driven process for a collaborative service-oriented architecture

Fulfilling composability and reusability requirements is one of the main challenges of service-oriented software engineering. This paper describes research which applies a MDA based-process to support the development of specific middleware services in WGWSOA infrastrucuture. This process aims to comply with EDOC and RM-ODP profiles in order to guide specific services development of an architecture based on middleware services for collaborative applications. We also evaluate if the process deployment could enhance composability and reusability requirements.

A SoaML Approach for Derivation of a Process-Oriented Logical Architecture from Use Cases

Designing logical architectures for cloud computing environments can be a complex endeavor, moreover when facing ill-defined contexts or insufficient inputs to requirements elicitation. Existing solutions are no longer enough to embrace challenges brought by complex scenarios and multi-stakeholder realities, as in Ambient Assisted Living ecosystems. As new concepts and cross-domain solutions emerge, these problems are tackled by connecting evermore the world of requirements and architectures, of business and technology, through service-oriented approaches. This due, we propose to extend the Four-Step-Rule-Set (4SRS) method, which has proven successful in generating a proper candidate logical architecture for an information system in ill-defined contexts, to a Service-Oriented Architecture approach for greater business integration, flexibility, and agility, by using the SoaML language. We present the result of a demonstration project, based in an industrial live setting where the 4SRS-SoaML reshaped method was applied, by generating the architectural participants, and respective channels of services and requests.