JP2000222191A - Software development method for information system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a software development method of an information system capable of providing a technical foundation capable of developing the system as an economic action. SOLUTION: This method is composed of a process for graphically displaying the movement of an event referred to by a user, a process for describing the movement of the event by using an expression form internally predetermined so as to realize the movement and a process for matching the movement referred to by the user and internal expression contents through the mutual exchange of each of the processes and specifications for constructing the information system are expressed by the flow of jobs.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an information processing system for constructing information systems in various fields, which is intended to streamline the work of both a developer or user and a developer and to improve the productivity of development. The present invention relates to a software development method for an information system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Information systems (for example, a production management system for realizing automation in the manufacturing industry, a medical information system for providing medical service support such as medical care support, etc.) The support system is a computer-based system that provides a predetermined service while performing complicated exchanges with a user, other related devices, systems, and the like.

[0003] The greatest feature of an information system is that it aims at controlling the sequence of events. An event referred to here is an interaction with a user of the system, other related equipment, a computer system, etc., in order to achieve a specific purpose, any event in a specific state caused by an event In response to this, it is necessary to define in detail what should be the next state, and implement the corresponding system (hardware and software).

[0004] The behavior (specification) that the system should take is generally complicated. In addition, the actual behavior of the implemented system is diverse and complex. When developing an information system, it is necessary to have a high level of knowledge and insight on what can improve the operational efficiency of the system (herein, the target is called a domain).
Since the computer technology used in the implementation is an advanced domain, it is common for the developer and the user and the developer to be different organizations or even different enterprises.

This is so-called outsourcing,
Various steps, such as planning a system, creating specifications, and implementing specified specifications, are recognized as individual economic activities. In order for development work to be carried out economically and reasonably (in order to be a business), it is necessary that the rights and responsibilities of each work are clear and the interface between the works is clear. is there. The following can be usually considered as individual tasks.

[0006] (1) Requirement definition: A description of matters that regulate the development framework, such as the purpose of the system, main means, cost, and development period. (2) Specification definition: What defines what and how to realize it in the framework of requirement definition.

(3) Design: Designing how to realize a computer system. (4) Development: The actual development of software (rarely, hardware). (5) Verification: Verify that the developed system satisfies the specifications and requirements, and revise as necessary.

(6) Technology transfer: To prepare necessary information and provide necessary training so that system users and managers can operate the system. (7) Project management: To adjust these tasks to be completed in the required time and cost, and to solve problems that arise.

[0009] A plurality of stakeholders share these tasks and proceed with development jointly. The stakeholders can be roughly classified into the following categories. This classification is based on the technical basis upon which each member relies.

(1) Domain expert: a member who has sufficient knowledge, experience, and insight about the development target (business and product), defines the purpose of the system, and decides what to do for that purpose it can. (2) Computer expert: A member who has the knowledge and skills of the computer technology to be used, and can determine specifications from the viewpoint of implementation, and design and implement.

(3) System Engineering Expert: A member who has management skills and experience in developing a computer-based system, and performs mainly project management.

Here, the relationship between the development of a domain expert and the development of a computer expert, which has conventionally been unclear and causes various problems, will be considered.

The development method of the system is identified by a development process model in which many tasks required for development are divided into what highly independent tasks, and who is responsible for each task. Furthermore, what kind of method and technology each element work is based on is also an important identification element.

Waterfall type system development is the oldest development method, proposed by Royce in 1970. The feature is a model in which development is vertically divided on a time axis, and major phases such as planning, design, implementation, and testing are sequentially shifted.

Originally, in order to solve many problems caused by earlier methods that had been developed without defining specifications, it was necessary to define and clarify specifications (analysis) as important phases. It is a proposal. The basic idea is to complete the contents of the previous phase before moving on to the next phase, but it has been recognized that this is not always the case in the 1980s.

For example, it has been assumed that the implementation is performed after the specifications are determined. However, there are cases where the specifications are restricted by the capability of the implementation, and conversely, it is possible to realize functions that were not originally anticipated by reuse. As for the technology used, the approach of functional analysis has become the mainstream over time. This classifies the elements that make up the system by function and describes the operation of the system by the interaction between the functions.

[0017]

However, such a development method has the following problems. (1) The specification expression by the function is difficult to understand from the user's point of view, and greatly hinders the development members from sharing the purpose. The user wants to grasp the operation of the system according to each purpose of use and its flow, but from the specifications expressed in terms of functions that abstract various flows, it can be understood only by imagination.

(2) There is waste in transmitting or re-expressing information between phases, and quality degradation due to lack of information occurs. This is more acute when each phase is verified only from the point of view within that phase (eg, a regular review is such a verification), and the final stage of testing and the subject of the original specification Things that are not discovered happen.

(3) Many problems are found in the test stage, and it takes a lot of cost to correct them. In the test, verification is finally performed based on a case (the purpose of the user's use and its flow). In this case creation and verification work, things that are not described in the specifications (leakage or wrong) are discovered. Often. This is a problem finding by redefining the system from the viewpoint of the case, not from the viewpoint of the function (how to read the specification).

The development of a brototyping system was
The experiment was conducted by Boehm and colleagues in 1984, and is a prototyping-type system development that aims for efficient development by gradually expanding the scope of handling while repeating phases that are closely related to each other. The experiments compared the results of developing a small system in parallel with conventional and prototyping.
The results showed that brototyping was effective in terms of development time and ease of use, but had problems in terms of consistency and expandability. In an experimental paper, it was suggested that in actual system development it would be better to use a combination of these under risk management.

The problem with this method is that it is difficult to develop as a business. (1) It is difficult to understand when and how it will be completed. By deciding the specifications while making it, it is impossible to develop with a fixed cost without knowing the final arrival point. (2) To make division of labor of expert teams difficult. request·
A domain expert who evaluates the results by considering the specifications and a computer expert who develops a prototype need to work together all the time, which puts a large burden on time and labor.

An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems, and to realize a software development method for an information system, which can provide a technical base capable of developing a system as an economic act.

[0023]

To achieve the above object, according to the first aspect of the present invention, a step of graphically displaying the movement of an event referred to by a user and an internal step for realizing the movement. A process of describing the movement of an event using a predetermined expression format, and a process of matching the internal reference content with the movement referred to by the user through the interaction between the above-mentioned processes. It is characterized in that specifications are expressed in the flow of work in order to do so.

According to such a method, the movement of the event graphically displayed is described in a predetermined expression format (specification description language), and the description indicates whether the movement of the event moves as displayed graphically. The specification can be defined while verifying whether or not.

In this case, for example, an object-oriented language can be used as the predetermined expression form (language). According to the object-oriented language, objects such as people, objects, and information are made into objects, each object has a state corresponding to external communication, and it is possible to define operations that can be called from other for each state, The feature is that the correspondence with the movement of the event graphically displayed can be easily understood.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the step of graphically displaying the movement of the event referred to by the user, and the movement of the event using an internally predetermined expression format for realizing the movement. The step of describing, the step of matching the movement referred to by the user with the internal expression content through the mutual exchange of the above-described steps, and the step of mounting with reference to the description of the movement of the event created in the step of matching A step of creating a program and a step of interconnecting the description of the movement of the event with the mounting program to verify that the program moves in accordance with the movement of the graphically displayed event. A feature is that the movement of an event is associated with the mounting program.

According to such a method, the movement of the event referred to by the user can be easily reflected in the program of the mounting system via a predetermined expression format.

Also in this case, for example, an object-oriented language can be used as a predetermined expression form (language).

[0029]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. In software development, it is preferable to develop software based on a form close to a conventional waterfall type in order to be a business. As a result, the rights and responsibilities of the respective tasks are clarified, and the time and cost of the tasks can be determined in advance by estimation. In the present invention, the problems pointed out as problems of the conventional waterfall type development are solved by the following technical methods.

(1) Specification expression method The specification is expressed not by the function which is the viewpoint of the implementation but by the work or the flow of goods which the user can easily understand. In addition, the created specification must be usable in the subsequent development phase without changing the form, and therefore, includes the same content as the final test specification.

(2) Realization of Verification Support All phases can be verified based on the final specification. This allows problems to be detected earlier in development and corrected with less impact. Further, the verification function is provided by software means.
This is to enable more accurate verification while reducing the burden on the worker.

(3) Establishing elemental technologies for mounting Establishing technologies that can be used to complete the work of each phase in a predictable time and quality. In particular, the most important point is that the above verification support is incorporated in the software to be developed.

Based on these technical methods, it is possible to realize system development by collaborating with a domain expert responsible for the specification and a computer expert responsible for implementing the created specification. Become.

The software developed in the present invention has the following three functional elements: animation, specification description language, and implementation framework. (1) Animation Two-dimensional (2D) or three-dimensional (3D) animation, which is used to express the flow of work and the relationship of the system in the scene in a manner that is easy for the user to understand.
This animation is based on the environment in which the user is located (for example, the office of the company) and the appearances in it (for example,
A person, an object, information, etc.) are arranged, and an event that occurs (for example, a telephone call from a client) is generated by a button on the screen. Then, an expected reaction can be continuously defined as a scene development.

When the animation moves alone (creating an initial animation of the specification definition), pressing a button on the screen simply switches the scene. In other words, the scene unfolds as expected.

On the other hand, when operating in combination with the specification description language (when verifying the specification definition or verifying the implementation program),
The operation of the button calls the object processing defined in the specification description language. If the information returned as a result of the process matches the expected value of the animation, it can be correctly developed to the next scene, but if the value is different from the expected value, the problem is solved and the process is repeated again. Usually, problem solving involves modifying the specification language or revising the animation.

(2) Specification Description Language For example, an object-oriented language is used, and objects expressed in the business flow can be expressed by objects and their interaction. This object-oriented language is characterized by the following components that make it easy to understand the correspondence with animation.

(2.1) Objects that reflect entities appearing in animation Objects, such as people, things, and blocks of information, are made into objects. Each object has a state (state) corresponding to exchange with the outside, and defines a service (operation) that can be called from another for each state. (2.2) A service call between transaction objects that reflects the flow of processing in animation is described continuously.

(3) Implementation Framework A system developed according to the specifications is built on this framework. Thereby, the animation is associated with the implementation via the specification description language. The implemented system can be activated according to the movement of the animation. As a result, the implementation can be verified by utilizing the animation agreed with the user.

The connection between the specification description language and the mounting system can be realized by associating the objects appearing in the specification description language with the programs of the mounting system. If the mounting system is implemented by the object-oriented technology, the correspondence is easy. Even if it is implemented in a method other than the above, it is possible to associate objects by placing objects for interfaces and adding associations with internal processing.

Next, the relationship between the above functional elements will be described. (1) At the time of specification definition As shown in FIG. 1, when there is a notification of occurrence of an event to a system in a scene from animation 1, the processing result for the event is notified to animation 1 using specification description language 2. At the same time, it instructs development to the next scene based on the instruction.

(2) At the time of mounting In this case, it is assumed that the object created in the specification description language is associated with the program of the mounting system. When an event is notified to the system in a scene scene from the animation 1, the actual processing request is transmitted to the mounting program 3 via the specification description language 2. When there is a processing result from the mounting program 3, the animation 1 is instructed via the specification description language 2 to the processing result for the event and the development to the next scene based on the instruction.

Next, the procedure for developing the system will be described. Development procedures can be broadly divided into specification definition work and implementation work. FIG. 3 is an operation flow in the specification definition work, and FIG. 4 is an operation flow in the mounting work.

The development procedure of the specification definition work is as follows. (1) Animate the flow of tasks envisioned by the user. In other words, the movement of the event referred to by the user is graphically displayed. For example, when the flow of business of planning, designing, and developing hardware products is represented by animation, the entire flow of business is graphically represented by animation as shown in FIG.

The business items are listed in a hierarchy, and when the item of "basic design" is selected, a screen as shown in FIG. 6 is displayed. When the item “hardware development” is selected, a screen as shown in FIG. 7 is displayed. In addition, after each item in FIG.
"ccess" indicates that the processing of the item has been completed.

(2) A specification is described using a specification description language with reference to the animation. (3) The above (1) and (2) are repeated until the animation moves as intended in the description. In short, the description is made using an internally defined expression format to realize the movement of the event.

(4) It is determined whether or not the specification definition created as described above covers the assumed business. If not, the process returns to (1) and returns to the above (2) and (3). )
Is repeated. If so, the specification is done. The movement referred to in such a process is matched with the internal expression content.

The development procedure of the mounting work is as follows. (1) Create an execution program for the implementation system with reference to the specifications created in the specification description language created in the specification definition work. In this case, the execution program is associated with an object appearing in the specification description language. (2) Connect and run the animation and the execution program. (3) Check if it moves as the animation.
If it does not move, return to (1) and repeat (1) and (2).
If you move along the animation, you're done.

According to the above-described method, the efficiency of the work of both the development client (user) and the developer can be improved, and the information system can be easily constructed.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of an apparatus for realizing the present invention. A developer (1) at the time of specification design inputs animation data using an input device 11 such as a keyboard and a mouse. The data is stored in the storage device 12. The stored data can be output to an output device 13 such as a display or a printer.

The developer (2) at the time of the function design uses the input device 1
4 is used to express the output animation in a specification description language. The described contents can be stored in the storage device 15. The stored contents can be output to the output device 16 as appropriate.

At the time of program development, the developer (3) creates an execution program through the device 17 with reference to the specification expressed in the specification description language. The created execution program can be stored in the storage device 18. The program execution device 20 can read and execute the execution program stored in the storage device 18.

In the test stage, the developer (4)
And outputs the animation data stored in the storage device 12, and by referring to the animation data, it can be tested whether or not the execution program executed by the device 20 operates according to the animation. The end user can cause the device 20 to execute the execution program.

The foregoing description has been directed to specific preferred embodiments for the purpose of describing and illustrating the invention. Therefore, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and includes many more modifications without departing from the spirit thereof.
This includes deformation.

[0055]

As described above, according to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained. The problems of waterfall type development can be overcome. Although the waterfall type development is easy to adapt to business, there is a difficulty that the cost for solving problems found in later processes is large. The biggest element is specification errors or omissions, but this is expressed in an expression format that is easy for the user to understand, and by having a means to create from that expression in a specification description language, it can be reduced to a practically acceptable level. It is possible to reduce specification errors and omissions.

Efficiency of Development Work Since the standard method of specification creation is established, the work of specification definition that requires the most experience can be made more efficient. Furthermore,
Since the work in the post-process can be verified using the specifications once created, the work efficiency can be dramatically improved as a whole.

Realization of Developer Experts At present, when the scale of the system to be developed is increasing and the computer technology to be used is getting more and more advanced, the expert on the development target and the expert on the computer technology work together to develop. It is mandatory to do. Such a collaborative work can be easily realized by interposing a specification description language between these experts.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing functional elements and their relationships at the time of specification definition in the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating functional elements and their relationships at the time of mounting according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an operation flow of a specification definition work in the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an operation flow of a mounting operation according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a business flow.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of an animation.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing another example of the animation.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing an example of an apparatus for performing the method of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Animation 2 Specification language 3 Implementation program 11,14,17 Input device 12,15,18 Storage device 13,16,19 Output device 20 Device for executing a program

Claims (4)

[Claims] A step of graphically displaying the movement of the event referred to by the user; a step of describing the movement of the event using an internally predetermined expression form for realizing the movement; An information system characterized by the step of matching the movements referred to by the user through the exchange of processes with the contents of internal expressions, and expressing the specifications in a business flow in order to construct an information system. Software development method. 2. The software development method for an information system according to claim 1, wherein an object-oriented language is used as said predetermined expression format. A step of graphically displaying the movement of the event referred to by the user; a step of describing the movement of the event using an internally predetermined expression form for realizing the movement; A step of matching the movement referred to by the user with the internal expression content through mutual exchange of steps, a step of creating an implementation program by referring to a description of the movement of the event created in the step of matching, A step of connecting the description of the movement of the event to the description of the movement of the event by verifying that the movement of the event is displayed in accordance with the movement of the event graphically displayed. A software development method for an information system, wherein 4. The software development method for an information system according to claim 3, wherein an object-oriented language is used as said predetermined expression format.