Avoiding semantic and temporal gaps in developing software intensive systems
Journal of Systems and Software
| Hi-index | 0.00 |
The dissertation considers the general problem of failing to satisfy organizational control requirements (control requirements) in automated systems. The significant economic, social, and political consequences of failing to satisfy control requirements are discussed for background, using examples from well publicized failures in government, business, and the military. The dissertation proceeds to a detailed discussion of the general problem and identifies a constrained problem by focusing on two problem domains: accounting information and command and control. The formal research hypothesis describes a potential solution to the problem, which points to the process by which automated systems are developed. The solution, called the Meta-Artifact Process (MAP) is discussed in detail, with comparisons to existing processes. MAP adds three extensions to Object-Oriented Domain Analysis, one of which is the Meta-Artifact, and uses knowledge management techniques to make tacit knowledge explicit in the Meta-Artifact. The validation of MAP includes an executable prototype produced with MAP. The prototype is for the purchasing cycle from the accounting information domain, with a discussion of how the prototype successfully deals with the constrained problem and validates all three extensions of MAP. An evaluation, using a field study from the command and control domain, with questionnaire- and interview-based surveys, validates the second extension used in MAP - Domain Rules Analysis, based on domain rules. Domain rules characterize a domain and help define its boundaries. Domain rules are used in creating the third extension used in MAP---the Bifurcated Architecture. The Bifurcated Architecture allocates aspects of the system likely to change frequently---business rules or rules of engagement---to an external repository as data, rather than as software code. Managing the most frequently changed aspects of the system through an external repository reduces maintenance costs and improves reliability. Both the prototype and the evaluation conclude that MAP offers a solution to the problem that is significantly better than other system development processes.