ABSTRACTION MODELING

Environment/Ecosystem:

� Complex ecosystem of people, technology, HW, SW,

constrained by regulations, economics and time

� Fierce competition as the result of globalization &

lower barriers to entry

� Direct, indirect, conditional relationships between

object/elements

� Manic pace

� High level of uncertainty and risk

Key Challenges of Systems:

� Legacy (Hardwired & Rigid)

� Many perspectives

� Heterogeneous and numerous technologies involved

Key Challenges for Business Requirements:

� Scope Creep

� Willingness and levels of participation

� Tractability

� Resistance from stakeholders

Approach Objectives:

Develop a fresh approach best practices that works in the

manic pace of SW, technology & internet which is in harmony

with other development & industry methodologies.

� Approach should be flexible and built organically

� Adjust to industry and established processes

� End-to-End orientated

� Modeling and Refining (Object Modeling)

Adopting key processes on existing methodologies like:

• RUP

• Agile (SCRUM)

• Waterfall

General approach to SW development:

• Elevate the level of abstraction

• Embrace continuous integration

• Balance stakeholder priorities with delivery time and

development costs

• Go strong in the Inception & Elaboration Phase

• Strive to always automate routine tasks

Work and Productivity:

� Organization: small, nimble teams

� Work flow velocity: adjustable sprints, vigorous and

intense (full & good faith)

� Frequently concurrent tasks

� Reasonable, practical milestones to sustain morale

Best Practices for Requirements:

• Leverage existing documents and resources

• Shadow stakeholders and elicitation is key (active

user participation) – workshops, surveys

• Study existing, similar applications

• Make use of models and prototypes

• Build common, uniform vocabulary

• Identify & create system inventory and matrices of:

� system objects,

� relationships

� constraints

� rules

• Apply UML 2.0 to support modeling and abstraction,

feedback

• High priority items – model in great detail

• Low priority items – model in lesser detail

• Tighter requirements (Redact, Vet) ; requirements

that are short, but concise

• Abundant use-cases; Use-Case Narratives

• Use of Icongraphy (Rich-Picture Diagrams)

Application of UML 2.0:

� Functional Diagrams

� Class/Object Diagrams

� Activity Diagrams

Post Mortem:

� What have we learned?

� What did we do right?

� What obstacles did we face?

� Can we do better?

Agility Processes is about:

• Individuals and Interactions over processes and

tools.

• Working Software over comprehensive

documentation.

• Customer Collaboration over contract negotiation.

• Responding to Change over following a plan.

• No hard & fast rules; no rigor and ceremony

Its about people and their interactions and adaptations to a

wider environment.

A generic “agile” product development process can be

characterized as being: nimble, dexterous and swift

adaptive and response to new, sometimes unexpected,

information that becomes available during product/system

development opposite the traditional belief in engineering

design that requirements and design solutions should be

frozen as early as possible.

Several Description Examples:

• Life Cycle Phase Concept Definition, Development,

Production

• Program Activity Mission Analysis, Prelim. Design,

Detail Design

• SE Process Reqs., Analysis, Architecture Definition,

System Design

• Eng. Specialty Area Software, Human Factors,

Mechanical Design

Agile methodologies with new SE technologies and tools

provide shorter periods of times but also to incorporate

specifications with greater facility

New Requirement Techniques:

• Creating a data dictionary

• Drawing analysis models

• Specifying quality attributes & performance goals

• Building user interface and technical requirements

• Writing test cases from requirements

• Defining customer acceptance criteria

The following documents may also be consulted for

information:

� Organization charts

� Work plans

� Organization histories

� Annual reports

� Press releases

� Legislation

� Standing orders

� Operating directives

� Job specifications and Descriptions

� Policy and procedures

� Manuals

Systems planning and architecture documents.