Got a nice e-mail from one of my good friends back in Gothenburg today, he had some interesting and serious suggestions for Android apps (that he’s planning to realize on iPhone). We’ll see where this ends.
Next week it’s finally time for IBC. Been iterating the presentation for a while now and starting to go around in circles a bit, the final pieces will fall into place while talking I’m sure.
The last couple of days I’ve been getting acquainted with Q as well. Maybe not the most pleasant experience but in the end it gets the job done. Or at least it might. The interesting part though is to see if we can auto-generate necessary input straight from a SysML model.
Additionally I had a brief e-mail discussion with a colleague in Gothenburg about xtUML, code generation and model verification. Good to see that xtUML is getting some attention around the block; I definitely think there are some goodies to collect there. Hopefully I’ll have a chance to continue that dialogue this week since he had some follow-up questions on CM.
Well, time to open Eclipse.
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måndag 12 april 2010
tisdag 23 februari 2010
Puzzling
Slow week blog-wise but a lot of activity going on. Besides putting all the pieces of the puzzle together before diving into my new assignment I’ve managed to cram in some work on both xtUML and agile architecture.
So here I am listening to Seven Nation Army and writing an RUP-inspired explanation to how architecture and “agile” can connect. As a piece of this process a comparison of Lean and agile make sense… however when reading articles around the web things makes less and less sense… seems as the parties on either side of the imaginary fence try to advocate the opposite’s similarities where beneficial…
Or agile is the wrong word, the current focus in mind is Scrum.
An interesting observation is that the architecture mindset that I have fit quite well with Lean philosophies but when discussing it in terms of Scrum it is hard not to make patches and adaptations to the frame-work…
So here I am listening to Seven Nation Army and writing an RUP-inspired explanation to how architecture and “agile” can connect. As a piece of this process a comparison of Lean and agile make sense… however when reading articles around the web things makes less and less sense… seems as the parties on either side of the imaginary fence try to advocate the opposite’s similarities where beneficial…
Or agile is the wrong word, the current focus in mind is Scrum.
An interesting observation is that the architecture mindset that I have fit quite well with Lean philosophies but when discussing it in terms of Scrum it is hard not to make patches and adaptations to the frame-work…
fredag 15 januari 2010
Analysis to design
Currently involved in a lot of more business related tasks but I get to squeeze in some technical thoughts in between as well.
One that I’m exploring a bit is how xtUML and “MDA” ideas could be used to create separation of concern between very abstract analysis (or maybe “architecture” if you like) models and design models. Of course it is not so much the separation of concern I’m after as the possibility to do model to model transformation, but “soc” feels like a necessary means to achieve just that ;)
In my head, maybe I’ve got it wrong, this is initially not so difficult to achieve but when you put it in context it suddenly become a tad more problematic. Especially since it is not the pyramid-structure of transformation I’m after (you know, the “Babushka” structure…) but something a bit more intelligent where the transformation would handle e.g. cases where you go to different levels of abstraction in your analysis (because different problems require more or less details to analyze), where you could apply different patterns to solve various problems etc etc
One question though, and slightly important too, is if there would be a business case to do it this way. Another way to do it would be to kick-start with analysis models and let them evolve into design models over time (this could be a beneficial option if you don’t connect any value to the analysis model themselves and want to be able to re-use them etc).
Anyone with thoughts/ideas?
Well back to more “management” tasks.
One that I’m exploring a bit is how xtUML and “MDA” ideas could be used to create separation of concern between very abstract analysis (or maybe “architecture” if you like) models and design models. Of course it is not so much the separation of concern I’m after as the possibility to do model to model transformation, but “soc” feels like a necessary means to achieve just that ;)
In my head, maybe I’ve got it wrong, this is initially not so difficult to achieve but when you put it in context it suddenly become a tad more problematic. Especially since it is not the pyramid-structure of transformation I’m after (you know, the “Babushka” structure…) but something a bit more intelligent where the transformation would handle e.g. cases where you go to different levels of abstraction in your analysis (because different problems require more or less details to analyze), where you could apply different patterns to solve various problems etc etc
One question though, and slightly important too, is if there would be a business case to do it this way. Another way to do it would be to kick-start with analysis models and let them evolve into design models over time (this could be a beneficial option if you don’t connect any value to the analysis model themselves and want to be able to re-use them etc).
Anyone with thoughts/ideas?
Well back to more “management” tasks.
fredag 4 december 2009
Why just UML?
The more I keep writing about xtUML the less I see any purpose to use UML2 when developing software. Granted that UML2 have a wider application-base to select from but as a concept UML without the stringent method of xtUML doesn’t seem complete anymore.
One problem persists though, which is connected to all graphical modeling and not just xtUML, there are still no applications out there that actually support you making better designs over time. The biggest hurdle in UML is still the fact that You have to make good class-diagrams and there is no perfect formula to what that is. Over time your models will grow large and erode if you aren’t careful.
A simple example of design support: In the "coding industry" an IDE without automated refactoring capabilities or a refactoring browser isn’t really a player even so you can’t find much about commercial modeling tools with such features. Why?
One problem persists though, which is connected to all graphical modeling and not just xtUML, there are still no applications out there that actually support you making better designs over time. The biggest hurdle in UML is still the fact that You have to make good class-diagrams and there is no perfect formula to what that is. Over time your models will grow large and erode if you aren’t careful.
A simple example of design support: In the "coding industry" an IDE without automated refactoring capabilities or a refactoring browser isn’t really a player even so you can’t find much about commercial modeling tools with such features. Why?
onsdag 2 december 2009
Execute this
I am currently having a late evening with the report on Model Driven Architecture and executable/translatable UML.
One thing that intrigues me is that during research, on MDA in particular, the notion of platform in the context of PIM and PSM (Platform Independent Model and Platform Specific Model) seems quite single-sided. In most MDA-papers I have yet to find a different meaning to platform than language + compiler + hardware. In other words MDA shall basically only be used to separate us from the implementation in software.
Why is there so little written about PIM/PSM where platform is put in a product context? Where the PIM is your model of the functionality independent on which final product in your palette it will end up in? And where the “PSM” is your “PIM” (in normal terms) for that specific product? This is nothing new and breath-taking in e.g. PLA-ideas but there isn’t a lot of practical reading where those two have been put together.
A practical approach from PIM, P for product or project then, to PIM (if needed) to PSM would be interesting to see (or create).
For a larger product company enabling this would probably yield a substantial improvement.
Time for a break and some serious running in -6degC.
One thing that intrigues me is that during research, on MDA in particular, the notion of platform in the context of PIM and PSM (Platform Independent Model and Platform Specific Model) seems quite single-sided. In most MDA-papers I have yet to find a different meaning to platform than language + compiler + hardware. In other words MDA shall basically only be used to separate us from the implementation in software.
Why is there so little written about PIM/PSM where platform is put in a product context? Where the PIM is your model of the functionality independent on which final product in your palette it will end up in? And where the “PSM” is your “PIM” (in normal terms) for that specific product? This is nothing new and breath-taking in e.g. PLA-ideas but there isn’t a lot of practical reading where those two have been put together.
A practical approach from PIM, P for product or project then, to PIM (if needed) to PSM would be interesting to see (or create).
For a larger product company enabling this would probably yield a substantial improvement.
Time for a break and some serious running in -6degC.
måndag 30 november 2009
Supplier management
During last week I and three very senior colleagues had an interesting e-mail discussion with regards to supplier management. Our discussion started off as a simple question related to automotive where constant improvements are made and there is a constant drift towards more proactive OEM-engineering. The question was how supplier management is affected and whether or not it is taken care of properly. Think e.g. of the difference in degrees of innovative freedom between a ”build to print” supplier and a strategic partner.
If we are doing more and more model-based development with early verification etc are we reducing the suppliers to more and more ”b-to-p” or shall we involve them even earlier? There are a lot of options with different implications; the main point is that we should make a conscious choice.
Personally I think this dynamic is really interesting and sometimes I think it is not discussed (or planned for) enough and becomes more a happening based on purchase-model.
Well the mail-dialog ended up in some really good reflections and statements, if someone is interested I think Dennis should sum them up in a presentation since the subject is too big to just fire away in a short blog-post.
Or maybe you have some good ideas and will be the second one who dares to comment on this blog? Would be huge.
No more procrastination, time to get that report on xtUML and MDA going.
If we are doing more and more model-based development with early verification etc are we reducing the suppliers to more and more ”b-to-p” or shall we involve them even earlier? There are a lot of options with different implications; the main point is that we should make a conscious choice.
Personally I think this dynamic is really interesting and sometimes I think it is not discussed (or planned for) enough and becomes more a happening based on purchase-model.
Well the mail-dialog ended up in some really good reflections and statements, if someone is interested I think Dennis should sum them up in a presentation since the subject is too big to just fire away in a short blog-post.
Or maybe you have some good ideas and will be the second one who dares to comment on this blog? Would be huge.
No more procrastination, time to get that report on xtUML and MDA going.
fredag 20 november 2009
A little bit of this
Board meeting with Modprod this morning and it went well. The agenda for the conference in February next year start to look really promising, ticket-system should be up and running next week. Recommend anyone interested in model-based development, or just development, to check it out.
Think I need to start Kanban myself soon as well, got a lot of different small ventures going on and successful multithreading is a must at this point otherwise I will be late with everything and become deadline, FOFI, driven (which in a sense is just-in-time so perhaps I should… …).
Oh that’s right, played an “agile” business value game together with Responsive on Wednesday evening. It was a fun exercise and definitely worth doing together with product managers, architects or just interested people. Basically you got some direct clues to the dynamics of making strategic decisions based on business value… and what that is.
Well not a lot of technical stuff today, more management. Guess next week will be more on the T side of the scale though when writing down all the juicy stuff with regards to xtUML in automotive… feel really good about this one, the 2-day crash-course-insight into Bridgepoint just added fuel to my fire.
Have a good one.
It’s Friday, if you’ve got extra time on your hands spend them on Demetri Martin, thanks TH. For his show “If I” you need a lot of extra time on those hands but it is worth it in the end, or you could just listen to him on Spotify. Because the unexamined life is not worth living. Man.
onsdag 18 november 2009
Training day 2
Just minutes left before we kick off day 2 of the xtUML/Bridgepoint training. Day 1 was really interesting and some of my ideas got confirmed and also learned new things since the tutor is approaching some areas from a different angle and perspective than I.
From my end I think model to model transformation looks really promising and the sheer fact that you can verify "UML" models through execution is nothing but pure honey.
Well off to the bakery to pick up some rolls for my peers.
From my end I think model to model transformation looks really promising and the sheer fact that you can verify "UML" models through execution is nothing but pure honey.
Well off to the bakery to pick up some rolls for my peers.
tisdag 17 november 2009
November rain
Still wet, still November, though this morning I felt awesome riding my 7 clicks to work. The Koss on, playing some sort of soundtrack to my life, and as we now thanks to Tom Rowland it is music that triggers some kind of response.
Well the chemical bro in my ears made me creative and I got some good ”uppslag” (not the kind of uppslag translated into centerfold) with regards to my Vinnova work.
I’ll see if I can play in some of those ideas as questions at the training in xtUML and Bridgepoint that will start here at the office in about 30 minutes. If you run you can make it. As you know I’ve taken a keen interest to xtUML and it will be very interesting to hear the tool vendor’s perspective as new input.
Also, strangely enough, I miss Volvo Cars a bit this morning. There is something special about setting up a large international project as we did in 05/06. Hard work, lots of travel, tons of politics and great fun (at least in retrospect 2 years later). Most of all I miss, this morning, that creative but also conflict-filled mix of cultures working with engineers and managers from different countries. Perhaps it is because I’m on a solo mission at the moment and any conflict in my “team” could be classed as some sort of delusion.
"That's what I'm talking about,
empathy. It's about as useless as the Winter Olympics ...
This February on NBC."
Well the chemical bro in my ears made me creative and I got some good ”uppslag” (not the kind of uppslag translated into centerfold) with regards to my Vinnova work.
I’ll see if I can play in some of those ideas as questions at the training in xtUML and Bridgepoint that will start here at the office in about 30 minutes. If you run you can make it. As you know I’ve taken a keen interest to xtUML and it will be very interesting to hear the tool vendor’s perspective as new input.
Also, strangely enough, I miss Volvo Cars a bit this morning. There is something special about setting up a large international project as we did in 05/06. Hard work, lots of travel, tons of politics and great fun (at least in retrospect 2 years later). Most of all I miss, this morning, that creative but also conflict-filled mix of cultures working with engineers and managers from different countries. Perhaps it is because I’m on a solo mission at the moment and any conflict in my “team” could be classed as some sort of delusion.
"That's what I'm talking about,empathy. It's about as useless as the Winter Olympics ...
This February on NBC."
tisdag 10 november 2009
Translative elaboration
Just opened up a new blank document to kick-off my analysis report on xtUML, even though the deadline is in December I’ve already started to see a draft in my head, in other words it is time to put it in print.
One of the more appealing differences with xtUML compared to other methods is the shift from an “elaborative” approach to a “translative” one. An issue though, for me, is that working translative on a systems engineering level is far from transparent… the technique seems much more easy to understand when discussing software engineering.
Ah, what wouldn’t I give for someone to bounce ideas with at the office today… any takers?
One of the more appealing differences with xtUML compared to other methods is the shift from an “elaborative” approach to a “translative” one. An issue though, for me, is that working translative on a systems engineering level is far from transparent… the technique seems much more easy to understand when discussing software engineering.
Ah, what wouldn’t I give for someone to bounce ideas with at the office today… any takers?
tisdag 27 oktober 2009
Welcome to the jungle
After lunch today I’ve been spending some time trying to find an xtUML plug-in for Eclipse in order to compare potential open-source tools with available COTS-applications. Most of the time you can find just about anything on the Eclipse platform but you have to walk through a long gruesome jungle each time... this time I don't seem to find my way out.
Is there anyone out there (any reference to Melodie MC is not intended) who knows a good xtUML implementation in Eclipse (available as open-source)? Anyone? Hello?
Is there anyone out there (any reference to Melodie MC is not intended) who knows a good xtUML implementation in Eclipse (available as open-source)? Anyone? Hello?
måndag 19 oktober 2009
Long time no blogging
The flu, birthdays and what not came in the way.
Today has been a day of reading and contemplating. At the moment I'm drilling into xtUML, Shlaer-Mellor, the differences between functional and semantical decomposition, etc.
And the ever so burning question, how can this be useful in our everyday development life?
xtUML might be well-known in some industries but I'm currently looking at it from an automotive angle. To me automotive is still struggling to find a way from idea to production without producing a lot of text during a long period of time. xtUML is certainly not the complete answer but it might be a small piece of the puzzle so it is worth doing some research and thinking.
Today has been a day of reading and contemplating. At the moment I'm drilling into xtUML, Shlaer-Mellor, the differences between functional and semantical decomposition, etc.
And the ever so burning question, how can this be useful in our everyday development life?
xtUML might be well-known in some industries but I'm currently looking at it from an automotive angle. To me automotive is still struggling to find a way from idea to production without producing a lot of text during a long period of time. xtUML is certainly not the complete answer but it might be a small piece of the puzzle so it is worth doing some research and thinking.
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