Situational method engineering

PraxOS 0.8

Methods (ways of work)• Synonyms: process frameworks, practices,

disciplines, bodies of knowledge• Unit of work allocation/coordination/execution• Role (also “position” – becoming «stuck» in

performed role) is defined by a method • Method – a unit of modeling/description (thus -

the way to discuss and teach activity)• Have multiple levels:

– Engineering methods• Systems engineering

– Requirements engineering» Use cases for functional requirements definition

2

Example: methods in management(endeavour management: enterprise, program, project)

3

140 organisational fashions and fads, 2003.Thomas H.Davenport, Laurence Prusak, "What's the Big Idea?: Creating and Capitalizing in the Best Management Thinking"

4

Implementation cycle of powerful methods

• Yesterday - 10 years/method*,

• Today - 3 years/method,

• Tomorrow… singularity

* In the end method isn’t necessary gone. Methods are not fads!

Problems in method abundance?• Methods are scarce! Methods are used only

indirectly (they are unique for the situation, any generalization is just a «method knowledge»).

• Methods are «non-weaveable» in concurrent use:– Non-comparable in form (monographs, handbooks,

reference process frameworks, standards, bodies of knowledge, etc.)

– Non-comparable in content (different ontologies)• Non-formality, non-completeness of current

descriptions no way for improvement or automation.

5

ConcOrg method library(typical guides for workers)

Reference method library (OPFRO, PraxOS, … -- «handbooks»)

Situational method engineeringSystems engineering (general description)

• …• requirements engineering• project management

Project management (options)• ... • PMBoK• Theory of constraints

Theory of constraints• ... • Make-to-order: project buffer management• Mass production: drum-buffer-rope

ConcOrg situational method:Theory of constraints in make-to-order projects of type X systems, with project

planning and control tool Y used

Specific operations with real objects and documents in concrete time period

Method adjustment

Method enactment

6

ConcOrg reference method N

Метод NМетод NMethod N

ConcOrg reference method NConcOrg reference method N

Situational method engineering and methodologyModel representationISO 15926, UML, OWL

Methods (systems engineering, project management, ITIL, PMBoK, BABoK, MFESA, Theory of constraints…)

Endeavor = process instance (life cycle, workflow)

Metamodel = «element classes and relationships» in method modeling (ISO 24744, SPEM, PraxOS Schema)

method enactment

Activity

WorkUnit

Task Technique

* *

М0

М1

M2

M3

methodologist

method engineer

ontologist, logician

• engineer• project manager• organizer• client

Method generation

7

knowledge

Activity

WorkUnit

Task Technique

* *

situation

Methodologist job

• Standardization as main activity• Principal output: (meta)models (schemas) for

formal method descriptions• Major challenges:

– Integration of different views/viewpoints– Adoption of dynamic planning in method

implementation (agile life cycle)– Automation of method enactment

8

9

Model = instrument (to see invisible)

Where is throughput?!

Two views of life cycle(pic.17 from ISO TR 19760:2007)

In the standard «enterprise view» and «management view» are mixed up. 10

Model knowledge (schema, metamodel)

(Meta)model of method element: to provide at least 4 views/viewpoints

11

Method element

Activity

WorkUnit

Task Technique

* *

Management(project, resources)

Engineering (process, roles)

Organizational (agreements, actors-transactions)

Client/value(system/product)

Project/workflowmodel

System/product/facilitymodel

Functional models

LogicalModels

Physical Models

Requirements

Re. parameters

System and life cycle information model

System and system life cycle (process/project) models are assembled from method elements

System/product/plant model is dependant on methods used!

Method content vs. process/life cycle(SPEM 2.0)

12

RUP (Rational Unified Process)

MFESA (Method Framework for Engineering of System Architecture)

tActivities = method content use

Method element Schema (Metamodel)

13

STA-methodology (G.P.Schedrovitsky): Act of activity

OPF (Open process framework): method element

goal

knowledge

meansA1 … An

source materials

product

transformation

Awarenessdisplay

Metamodel standards for methods Metamodel

standardDefinition of «activity»

ISO 24774,15288

The activities are a list of actions that may be used to achieve the outcomes. Each activity may be further elaborated as a grouping of related lower level actions. Rather than describing the results of executing a process, activities describe a set of actions that might be undertaken to execute the process.

ISO 24744(ProcessKind)

A process kind is a specific kind of process, characterized by the area of expertise in which it occurs. ProcessKind is a subclass of WorkUnitKind.

SPEM 2 An Activity is a Work Breakdown Element and Work Definition that defines basic units of work within a Process as well as a Process itself. In other words, every Activity represents a Process in SPEM 2.0. It relates to Work Product Use instances via instances of the Process Parameter class and Role Use instances via Process Performer instances.

BPMN 2 An Activity is work that is performed within a Business Process. An Activity can be atomic or non-atomic (compound). The types of Activities that are a part of a Process are: Task, Sub-Process, and Call Activity, which allows the inclusion of re-usable Tasks and Processes in the diagram. However, a Process is not a specific graphical object. Instead, it is a set of graphical objects. The following sections will focus on the graphical objects Sub-Process and Task.

ISO 15926 A 15926-4 actual individual that brings about change by causing the event that marks the beginning, or the event that marks the ending of an individual.NOTE: Behavior is a term used to describe an activity either where there are preconditions and the activity is a response to those preconditions, e.g. reaction to touching a hot surface, or where the way an activity occurs is described by some property or function, e.g. fluid flow being described by the viscosity of the fluid.

OPF the highest-level work unit consisting of a cohesive collection of tasks that are performed by one or more collaborating producers when producing a set of related work products or providing one or more related services.

14

ISO 24744 notation

15

OPEN/Metis Project

M0

Construction

Construction Build

Mc

Mf

Determination of Needs

Definition

Change

Change Build

Mu

Retirement

Needs Formalisation1

Needs Documentation1

Requirements Specification1

High-Level Modelling1

Technological Design1

Deployment Planning1

Construction Planning1

User Documentation Authoring1

Low-Level Modelling1

Coding1 Generation1

Packaging1

Synchronisation1

System Retirement1

Change Management2

High-Level Modelling1

Low-Level Modelling1

Coding1 Generation1

Packaging1

Synchronisation1

BPMN 2.0 notation

16

17

From FutureModels presentation

Ontology is about reality, not names/labelsOntology answers question: «what is there in the world?»

18Picture from FIATECH presentation

Product/service catalog standards quagmire

Solution for models incompatibility: ISO 15926 (life cycle data integration)

19

Integration ontology:

reference data libraryISO 15926-3,4

Method 1model

Method 2model

+ library amendments rules ISO 15926-6+ notations of ontology representation ISO 15926-7,8+ computer application interoperability rules ISO 15926-9

Model integration

Model interoperability

categoriesISO 15926-2

Ontologist, logician

Methodologist

Method engineer

Data model pyramid ISO15926: Not only product/plant model, also project/method/practices/process/activities models

20Challenge: process/method ontology almost non-existent in RDL ISO 15926 !!!

Douglas Lenat: «blue-collar philosophers»

role, entity, individual

General engineering concepts: connection, detail, flow...

201 categories and concepts

10 ths. items: requirement, pump, heat exchanger

ISO 15926-2

ISO 15926-4

Rules for additionISO 15926-7,8

100 ths.

1 ml.

10 ml.

Dynamic method (meta)modeling:method creation/change in real time

• Main question of each collaboration: «what we do next?»

• Development method trend: from Waterfall to Agile.• Agent approach in software engineering• Modeling-in-lagre (interactive modeling)• Automation of enactment (workflow generation):

orchestration and choreography• Challenge: metamodel changes when model instance

already exist (instantiated individuals need to be reclassified in updated metamodel)

21

Situation variability(variety of systems, life cycle stages, tools)

From ISO/IEC TR 24748-1 (draft) 22

23

Systems engineering: an attempt in a generic method description

Organizational Project-Enabling Processes

Life cycle model managementInfrastructure managementProject portfolio managementHuman resource managementQuality management

Technical ProcessesStakeholder requirements definitionArchitectural designImplementationIntegrationVerificationTransitionValidationOperationMaintenanceDisposal

Project ProcessesProject management

Project planning Project assessment and control

Project supportDecision managementRisk managementConfiguration managementInformation managementMeasurement

Agreement Processes

AcquisitionSupply

provides

25 recommended systems engineering (life cycle) processesISO 15288:2008

Processes are applied:•sequentially•recursively •iteratively

(26 – Tailoring metaprocess)

Method description example : requirements engineering

24

25

Example: Method choice in Project planning

Process management in manufacturing (queue to «work station»)

Traditional project management (one multitasked worker )

Critical chain (TOC) (common time buffer for task group)

Activity with 3 tasks

Using data fromEli Schragenheim и Daniel P.Walsh

Software tools for situational method engineering (method composers and modelers)

26

ISO 15288:2008 processes in Eclipse Process Framework Composer

Difference between «method composers» and process/project management tools: integrated support of many views/viewpoints (according to method metamodel) – role, project, process, product, guidance, etc.

Method enactmentProcess instance – use of method elements by specific people,

supported by tools (computers, paper sheets, facilities, etc.)

• Preliminary planning• Project initiation (resource allocation, work assingment)• Before-enactment communication (knowledge

management)– training (communicate method knowledge to people)– automation (communicate method knowledge to computers:

“semantic models”)• Dynamics/interactions:

– Re-modeling (up to re-metamodeling) when difficulties are met and obstacles arise

– Agile methodologies (planning-on-the-fly)

27

28

Reflection in process enactment: maturity levels

1. Method applied ad hoc, outcomes usually achieved

2. Method applied and described (modeled), method model disscussed (reflected).

3. Method modeled and activities are defined by model (disciplined execution).

4. Method systematically reviewing in the cycle of continuous method improvement.

Life cy

cle st

ages of s

ituatio

nal method

29

Questions?Anatoly Levenchukhttp://levenchuk.comailev@asmp.msk.su

Victor Agroskinvic5784@gmail.com

TechInvestLab.ru+7 (495) 748 5388