FOUNDATION· THE BROAD TOOL Most businesses of today are increasingly becoming dependent on computer systems in their daily operation. Businesses need to respond quickly and accurately to be able to compete in their rapidly changing envi ronments.
It is important that organizations and businesses become aware of the gain that could be realized by applying Integrated Computer Aided Software Engineering to their systems design.
The major gains of using an I-CASE tool will be realized during the systems maintenance period by enabeling more timely, less costly and correct impementation of changes.
The incorporation of I-CASE in the organization requires not only conventional training of personell, but cultural changes. The cultural changes are needed to facilitate the life-long process that an I-CASE method includes.
Arthur Andersen & Co. has put in years of experience and development effort to reach the goal of a true I-CASE method. The product is named FOUNDATION and supports the entire life-cycle of systems design.
Historically, engineering has developed its products through a try and fail process. Pieces of machinery was often built before they could be tested in their environments, resulting in a long list of neccessalY modifications or a total reassessment of needs and specifications. The result often was that new items had to be made or that the existing item had to be extensively modified.
The cost of repeating this process over and over pushed development of better planning systems, modeling and construction control. In today's computer-age the competitive industries all utilize some kind of automateu too I to plan, design and implement complex products. One such tool is Computer Aided Design (CAD) systems that help car manufacturers design cars with thousands of parts. The manufacturers also use Computer Aided Manufacturin~(CAM) to automate the actual manufacturing process.
The result IS that the time from the idea of a new car emerges until the first car rolls off the assembly line is only a fraction of the time it took with the old approach to engineering.
The competitive environment has urged industries and their businesses to utilize tIllS automated approach. Organizations that were late in applying new technology were forced into the automation process by a demand for better financial results.
industry is much does, however, share younger than the traditional many of the properties and
The software industry, like traditional industries, realized the need for structured tools to help their product development and maintenance processes improve. In the seventies this lead to the automation of IIldividual tasks of software development. This process was named Computer Aided Software Engineering (CASE).
As CASE developed, an increasing number of software developers and vendors realized the gain that could be made in utilizing this tool. The use of CASE spread, and made its way into software development environments, large and small, much like the spread of automation among traditional industries. 2
WHY CASE? 2.1 Computer systems - a critical part of the business
business efficient.
computer systems environment, firms
This includes are increasingly becoming a critical part of the realize the need for making their systems more traditional goals like increasing responsivness of system alterations and improving the development of new systems.
It is critical that individual business manage to respond in ample time to take advantage of the ever changing business environments.
Today, businesses are completely dependent on their computer systems. It is not acceptable to have systems falter or misfunction. The demands for reliability, flexibility and dependency are increasing rapidly as organIza tions widen their use and complexity of computer-based solutions. As the dependency on computer systems increase, it becomes critical to the organizations that the systems work, and work right. the need to invest in proper software has been looked upon
products. The dependence on most business functions like services, and a wealth of other of great importance that time and strategies and development to both planning, admini effort short more competitive and the speed
the need for businesses to be order to beat the competition in development is crucial for the Until recently, too few businesses realized software developing tools. Maybe because as something unrelated to traditional tangible software has often been missed.
Today, software is critical to production, accounting, customer strative functions. It is therefore is spent on synchronizin~ software and long run business-strategies.
The business environments get increasingly of change is also increasing. This stresses able to respond quickly and accurately in the marketplace. Automation of systems ability to make timely changes.
Even if business administrators have realized the need software systems development, they are often discouraged cost and time overruns before a system is completed. are notoriously optimistic about their abilities to develop on budget, and with the specified functionality. Too administrators are faced with mediocre systems, slipping overruns or project cancellations. and criticality of by the numerous System developers systems on tllne, often, business deadlines, cost These discouraging situations can be avoided if proper attention and resources are allocated to systems development. But, it has to be done the right way. In many cases, systems development IS undertaken without the help of a methodical, structured, standardized tool.
It is no longer enough to hire programming wizards to get the job done. Businesses of today operate far too complex and critical systems to leave anything to "quick and dirty" solutions. By applying a proper standardized method to systems development, large improvements can be made. System operators will have to adhere to a specified standard in their work. It is the only way to assure continuity, timeliness and control in a systems development environment; Past, present and in the future.
CASE is rapidly developing into encompassing process of system development rather than process. more and more just individual
of the stages
whole of the
The most powerful property of some of today's CASE packages is the centralization of shared data in a repository. This enables all participants to access current data and eliminates the manual labor of moving data around. It can be referred to as a project data base which is accessible to several different tasks and users. This makes the process much more systematic since it operates in an environment rather than in individual partitions. The increased compatibility between automated tasks also enhance productivity and improves the learning curve.
By applying a continuous process, containing several tools, today's CASE tools should support systems design from the initial planning through development stages and all the way to maintenance of the finished product. The combination of a shared project-database with an extensive collection of tools that play together is called Integrated Computer Assisted Software Engineering (I-CASE). In I-CASE it should only be neccessary to enter the same piece of information once. I-CASE will help orchestrate the systems design and installation effort.
I-CASE assures a formal systematic and computerbased approach to systems development. It is a system for developing other systems, providing the system-crew with the opportunity for enhanced productivity, quality and compatibility with previous work. The I-CASE approach encourage group work, and makes It possible for relatively unexperienced people to produce useful results. It reduces the risk involved in big projects since it strongly encourages standards and proven techniques. The risk is also reduced by the fact that I-CASE lends itself to repeated use of previously completed work. I-CASE replaces the art of programming with the engineering science.
Complete Life Cycle Support
I=OUnORTlon METHOD/!
I pranninl I Repository
I-CASE encourages high quality and dependable systems Dependability is improved by the repeated use of tested techniques and the reuse of successful program modules from other systems.
Quality is improved by consitency in the implementation of the system, both in the user interface and the internal system structure. makes the finished system easier and more predictable for the user. also improves the ease of maintenance.
Quality is also enhanced by the use of prototyping, a process end user a "look and feel" of the system before it has implemented. Prototyping gives the end-users a better input about their needs. enabeling the actually been opportunity for whole
This
It by COST OF CHANGE '-----------------i~
TIME
The use of I-CASE increases the predictability of implementing a system because of its highly automated integrated tools available for project management. cost and structure time and of the
An I-CASE tool providing tools control.
helps management control the for assessing predictability, and system quality design effort by assurance and Orchestration of the system development process I-CASE provides a tool for orchestration of the project environment, i.e. hardware, system software, and different tools to support the processes.
By arranging project data in a repository, data can be shared by system desi~ners. This enhances standards and Improves the communication process wi tll1n the project environment.
MIS uepartments previously prouuce classified as higher quality (
uevelopment costs can be reduced with 15 to 50% by using I-CASE. These savings will usually be eaten up by the increased cost of training and the need for cultural changes in the host organization.
The large and meaningful savings occur during maintenan ce. By having a complete uocumentation of a system's development process, changes anu modifications can be implemented swiftly. This will be the real savings of applying I-CASE in the organization.
One part of the savings will be the reduced resources needeed to implement changes. Another, and for most businesses the larger part, will be the savings (increased revenue) realized by constantly meeting business needs in the rapidly changing business environment.
unit-testing to be performed on mainframe resources will be utilized be) performed in the production
The gain from using
I·CASE
Coovffsioa
SJ"sltm " Traditional ',,-
Ti'"
&Q).J
The key problem is to design a method for systems development that enables you to always produce a correct and predictable solution. The rigor of the solution is a very important factor when selecting systems develop ment methods.
It is not enough to apply the limited "picture to code" terminology in order to facilitate a system to administer systems design efforts. There is actually no evidence that any vendor has achieved the "picture to code" for moderatly complex systems without significant manual intervention.
To be able to meet the requirements of tomorrow's need for automation, sy-stems design organizations need to chanl;le their operative culture just like the traditional industries had to do when they applied automation.
Arthur Andersen & Co's contribution to I-CASE is named FOUNDATION. FOUNDATION consists of three integrated components that can be used individually or combined: METHOD/l for project management, DESIGN/l for planning and design, and INSTALL/l for implementation and support. The combined use of these three tools enables a complete I-CASE that will significantly help productivity and predictability of systems development.
operates on-line on a personal computer (IBM PC) it
access and review information. To promote even and productivity, FOUNDATION can operate in a
different implementa tion methods from a systems development method. FOUNDATION supports iterative design, package system design, and custom system design, and will incorporate expert system design and decision support systems design. munmmon - Melltoc/ology
IHrORMAllOH l'IAIWIHG t
IlERAIIVE DESIGN PACKAGE mUM OlSIGN CUSJOI.\ S1SJEM DESIGN
IIERAIIYE IMPUMEN1AliOM PACKAGE ml£l.l IMPllMlHUTIOH CUSIOM malA IMI'tHIfHIA110H
!=OUnlJATIOn PRODUCTION miniS
SUPPORT : 1 Among the functions and features of FOUNDATION are:
The methodology provides a framework for developing complete systems. This is why FOUNDATION is process and data-driven rather than data model-driven.
Used to enhance the conceptual integrity also improve the communication of the users and the team. of systems design. They design concept among the
The dictionary contains information about the system entities, including screens, programs, etc. It was built using relational technology with a strong, flexible reporting facility. Once information is entered, it is made available to all users and consistently used by all components.
Screen handling and dialog control logic are generated from resident, high-level, non-procedural specifications. Other facilitate program generation with shell tailoring and generation. A complete file maintenance conversation generated from screen and database definitions. dictionary
features statement may be
as an control asset by providing symbolic entrance and
and isolation of versions by programmer Production Systems support / configuration management The dictionary provides the mechanism to analyze the impact of proposed maintenance changes and to control the movement of programs between production and development environments. Services and support are often needed to help facilitate the adoption of FOUNDATION in an organization. FOUNDATION-PAC is a work-program med set of services including additional training, help, and installatIOn and adoption assistance. FOUNDATION-PAC will facilitate the adoption of FOUNDATION componenets and provide customized assistance to further the acceptance and effectiveness of the package. 6
METHOD/1 METHOD/1 contains a structured approach for managin8 systems develop ment from planning and design through implementation and support. Because of the vast complexity and sophistication of today's information systems, this is a critical management problem. Advanced technologies are not a solution in itself. A framework for managing the systems develop ment process is required.
The method provides the framework to help optimize systems development and uses an approach for building information systems that meet long-range business needs and strategies.
By defining what to do and when to do it in each phase of the systems development life cycle, it provides a comprehensive, effective management approach for the systems development life cycle. Each phase produces and communicates valuable information to the next. Planning, development and maintenance are in this way managed as a process.
METHOD/1 can be tailored to reflect ~orporate culture and priorities in the host organization by incorporatIng a top-down management approach. The customization allows the MIS management to create a plan that communicates their objectives throughout the department.
The method can also be tailored to support one of three possible design approaches: custom systems, package systems or iterative development.
All procedures and functions in the systems development life cycle are incorporated within the methodology. This gives managers the information needed to estimate and schedule resources before any time is spent on design or programming. J=DunmUlOn . Project Management munonTion
By dividing necessary. work to be done into successively smaller and more manageable Ul1lts, the systems development is simplified. The units reflect the strategic objectives and goals of the organization.
The methodology defines all tasks required to build and implement an application, including objectives, work to be done, and deliverables.
expectations reference. management.
to A provides
project reporting a
means for management teams glvlllg everyone the facility communicates work to communicate same frame of progress back to
The method helps anticipate potential changes, to prevent potential problems to become a reality. When revisions are required, they are scheduled directly into the planning phase for immediate modification.
At the completion of a phase within the method, management can examine completed work by help of a review capability. The review will help management to decide whether to proceed to the next phase of the project.
METHOD/l incorporates quality assurance reviews throughout the systems development process. This provides management with independent appraisals of completed work. The review are performed at specific checkpoints, allowing evaluation of the development process and completed work. ( ( 7
DESIGN/I is an integrated workbench to supporting the analysis and design phase of the systems development life cycle. During the desIgn phase it is Important that systems analysts share specifications in order to develop consistent, high quality system design. Automation promotes the creation and management of such a shared repository of design information. Because design data is available to all members of the design team, more time can be spent on design development and less time on manual documentation.
DESIGN/I consists of a variety of techniques needed in the design systems development. By automating and integrating these through word processing, modelling, screen and report design, and prototyping tools, reusability is promoted and designers design specifications.
phase of techniques data design, can share
today.
5.0, is the largest object oriented system in the world Increasing communication, productivity and efficiency A group-oriented approach is promoted data between system designers. This minimizes the need for paperwork.
Documents that are stored in the shared cross-referenced for each data element in the design. by helps FDunonTlon - COlllplete Life Cycle Sollltioll facilitating enhance the sharing prOductivity repository are indexed
of and and I=OUmlRTIOn Project Management Simplifying design development A menu driven structure supports the software functions. Designers are able to design objects, combine text and graphics move or copy from one object to another. instructions help accelerate the learning curve. simplification of the design define relationships between within single objects, and On-line help and next-step
DESIGN/1 incorporates verification and consistency facilities that review design data for completeness, accuracy, and consistency. These help designers detect, correct, and update all design documentation for improved design quality. Early detection of design errors and redundancies reduce total system time and resources required.
Repository providing a starting point for systems design Within the repository, a number These provide the basis for the design documents. Design data referenced in the repository for are also storable.
is every of pre-existing deliverables exist. project standards used to create automatically indexed and crossdocument. Images and diagrams ( Data modeUer for creating entity relationship models The data modeller diagrams conceptual data models and relational data structures. Diagramming enhances the conceptual integrety of systems design and improves communication between the project team and end users. To model business functions, the data modeller uses pull down menus, symbols, and icons to identify and define entity relationships.
Automated data flow diagrams connect system processes and data paths The data flow diagram mer allows designers to create and flow diagrams. A reporting facility checks models and for consistency and completeness.
modify data documentation Automating the design of screens and reports The screen/report design facility allows designers to create and modify screen and report layouts, using elements and literals stored in the design repository. Elements are selected and placed into the screen or report image. Cross-referencing between screen or report layouts and elements occurs automatically. The design facility also lets designers define display attributes for each element or literal.
The prototyping facility uses these screens, and the flow of data between them, to simulate conversations.
Prototyping allows designers and end-users to define screens to prototype a conversation, using function screen flow. Prototyping allows designers to test system's conversation flow. End-users also become the design process, helping to ensure the quality of design.
a keys
and more sequence of to control modify a involved in
Structure charts Structure charts define the organization of a system's programs, modules, and functions from top-down. The structure chart editor allows your designers to create and modify structure charts. These are used to show the functional decomposition of program logic.
To help management reporting facilities are data design repository: o The element glossary produces a report of all data elements. o Index reports describe where elements and documents are used, and which elements are contained within each document. o Inventory reports list existing documents and their last revision date. o Cross-check reports identify duplicate documents. o Element verification reports highlight discrepancies between data elements and their attributes. o Segment reports provide detailed information on the characteristics and members of a data layout. o Consistency check reports identify exceptions to the consistency and completeness of a diagram's design documentation and data flow. review available and audit design for summarizing documentation, seven the contents of the
DESIGN 11 has a COBOL design information into DESIGN 11 also has a CICS basic mapping support macros layouts.
Code will also be generated, from structure charts, to form shells.
copybook generation facility that translates COBOL-formatted record descriptions.
BS map generation facility to generate
and COBOL copybooks from screen Transferring of data to and from other software DESIGN 11 provides designers with documentation in the mainframe sharing increases the effectiveness to design quality and productivity.
the ability to implementation of the design
use phase. process relevant design
Information with respect INSTALL/l is an inte~rated set of facilities for the implementation and support phases of applIcation development. It is a comprehensive set of maInframe-based software facilities which allows the creation and support of application systems.
INSTALL/l is designed especially for the DB2 development environments, providing greater programming productivity control over the development process. In additIOn to providll1g code generation, INSTALL/l automates development, streamlines testing, and enhances maintenance. It addresses all areas of application generation, including screen and conversation design, code generation, test data management, production systems support, da ta base administration, and technical support. Its application architecture enables developers to focus more on developing business solutions, and less on redundant design and implementation activities.
Integrating the development environment INSTALL/I has a DB2-based repository, location for all data elements, record files, and documentation. A published of the data repository with design design data dictionaries and design tools.
The data repository is key to the ensuring referential integrity of data entities.
Promoting communication which layouts, interface data from serves as a central copybooks, programs, allows the population
DESIGN/l or other integration of FOUNDATION, and consistency among all The data repository is important in communicating design decisions between the project team members, and ensures that developers always have access to the most up-to-date development information.
By generating 100% of the code required for basic application program components, INSTALL/l simplifies coding. Developers no longer have to focus on redesigning, reimplementing, and retesting common program functions.
Increased control over the development process INSTALL/l's repository-based reporting facility allows project managers to accurately asses the impact of a potential design chan~e. Code generation, copybook generation, and screen modeling capabilities help enforce project standards to enhance ease of system use and mall1tenance. Security facilities control user access to INSTALL/l functions, and data security protects the data repository and code tables. Configuration management isolates different repositories to control migration between environments.
A proven approach lNSTALL/1 has been employed in more than 30 sites since the launch in April 1988. Its application architecture represents the newest ge neration of development platforms. The platform is based on AA&Co's experience on layered architecture which has been employed in hundreds of sites since the late seventies. The architecture allows developers to exploit the advantages of MVS/XA, DB2, ClCS and COBOL II, and will be based on IBM's System Application Architecture (SAA).
In 1972, Arthur Andersen & Co. released the first commercial data dictionary and code generator.
The application architecture isolates the developers environment, allowing them to focus on developing The programs generated by lNSTALL/l contain only code.
Major components of the application architecture include: o The conversion control program detailes what work has been performed to date and Identifies which program should be executed next. o The message editing service interfaces the application program with the ClCS Basic Mapping Support facility to perform initial validation and reformatting on screen data and output formatting operations. from the technical business solutions.
application-specific I=OUnORTlon I=OUnORTlon - Application Architecture
NVSiXA ClCS I OBl
INSTALUI ,IJlPUCATlON
PROCRAJIS mmm
·1
developers, and applications:
Architecture allows them provides the to distribute
following functions these functions to
to user o Security features help control access to functions and components in the on-line environment. data for all o Suspend/resume allows developers to suspend work on one con versation, perform a task in another, and resume work in the first conversations. o
National language support allows developers to create and screens in any language, providing geographic portability. maintain
Validation and editing rules models and established standard project
screen standards.
INSTALL/l allows the assignment of validation rules for during screen definition rather than during programming. can also be defined in DESIGN/I. each The field rules
INSTALL!1 allows an analyst to define a conversation to establish relationships between programs in the system. When DESIGN/l is with INSTALL/I, thiS data can simply be uploaded from the repository.
the used design code such advanced
can as
be basic features, generated for basic application program
COBOL requirements, environmental
screen input and output, and dialog
100% of the components interfacing, management.
INSTALL/1 allows the creation and maintenance of COBOL unique business logic. Additional functions create code wich automatically generated. This increrases control and flexibility. code for is not Plan administration
The Reporting Facility assist in the analysis of different system use, and entity relationships. Data administrators and perform impact analysIs on data repository contents. INSTALL/I offers a number of tools to test Data Management facility allows each versions of DB2 test data for different test sessions. help streamline developer to testing. create The re-engineering facilitates the population of the INSTALL/I repository with information about existing systems, which addresses the need for support of application maintenance.
Re-engineering also enables and simplifies the total remaking of a system by providing a better starting point. 9 The PC version of INSTALL/I allows applications to be designed, coded and unit tested on a workstation environment isolated from the target mainfra me.
The coding is based on the INSTALL/I layered architecture in conjunction with an animator, test data management and unit testing facilities.
By allowing design, coding and unit testing of the application to be done in the PC environment, only system test is left to be performed when the sytem is moved to the mainframe environment. It is of crucial importance that the system test is performed in the production environment.
The use of INSTALL/I-PC results in considerable savings of mainframe resources, allowing an increased resource allotment to be spent on system test, which improves the quality assurance and management without the need of acquiring additional resources.