The Pisatel Laboratory
• Pisatel stands for Pisa Initiative on Software
Architectures for Telecommunications
• Joint Research between Industry and Academy
• Participating Entities
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Ericsson Lab Italy
Istituto di Elaborazione della Informazione del CNR
Dipartimento di Informatica, Univ. Di Pisa
Scuola Superiore S. Anna
Workshop Pisatel – Roma, 22/11/2001
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Organizzazione di Pisatel
ERI
Responsabile
scientifico
Segreteria
Tecnico/Scientifica
Supporto tecnico
e amministrativo
Progetto Tematico
Quality and Validation of
Software Architectures
Progetto Tematico
Progetto Tematico
Integrating Wireless,
Wireline and Internet
Networks
Analysis and
Development of
Real Time Software
Resp. M.Bonuccelli (DI, U. Pisa)
Resp. G. Lipari (Scuola S. Anna)
Resp. A. Bertolino (IEI-CNR)
Workshop Pisatel – Roma, 22/11/2001
Enti accademici
pisani
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Project: Quality and Validation of SAs
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Context
Objectives
Approach
Current activities
Team
Results so far
Workshop Pisatel – Roma, 22/11/2001
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Context
• Software systems are increasingly complex, pervasive,
critical, heterogeneous and distributed
• These characteristics make sw development more difficult
and expensive, in front of higher market competitiveness
and more demanding quality requirements
• The SA has been recognized as a crucial stage of sw
development and as a reference model for analysis, design
decisions, validation
• Specific architectural concepts, notations and approaches
must be adopted/made explicit within the sw life cycle
Workshop Pisatel – Roma, 22/11/2001
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Objectives
• Use of “high level” (SA) descriptions to early
analyze, assess and validate complex software
systems
– SA descriptions to guide testing in the large (integration
and subsystem testing)
– SA assessment to support design decisions
– Component Based paradigm
• Quantitative support to process management
– Strategy for test planning embedded in a test derivation
tool
– Statistical support to management decisions
(performance techniques)
Workshop Pisatel – Roma, 22/11/2001
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Approach
• Needs for improvement, proposal, debate, case study,
…eventual take up.
• Rigorous methods – looking for convergence between
theoretical results and practice
• Adoption of “standard” approaches, like UML, and
tools, like Rational Rose
• No unnecessary extra effort, or ad hoc expertise
• Smooth integration within existing processes
• Automation
Workshop Pisatel – Roma, 22/11/2001
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Current activities
• SA based support to Integration Testing:
– The COW-Suite tool, combining the CowTest
Strategy and the UIT method
• Assessment of SA attributes:
– ATAM methodology
– Testability
• Component-based development:
– Survey
– Testing in a CB approach
• Project management based on performance techniques:
– From UML process model to Queueing networks
– Statistical Predictions
Workshop Pisatel – Roma, 22/11/2001
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Cow Suite
Use
Interaction
Testing
Obj 1
Obj 2
Test case
Test case Test case
Test case
Test
case
Test case
Test case
Test case
Test case
Test case
Test case Test case Test case
Test case
Test case
Test case
Obj 3
Method1()
Cost
Method2()
Method3()
CoWTeSt
Weighted
Test
Strategy
Workshop Pisatel – Roma, 22/11/2001
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Status
• Cow-Suite Prototype
– compatible with Rose
– several enhancements thanks to ERI feedbacks
– Ref. RUP model
• Continuing evaluation on ERI case studies
Workshop Pisatel – Roma, 22/11/2001
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Assessment of SA attributes (1)
• Early evaluation of critical quality attributes of
systems
• Quantitative, although high level, measures
• Tool support, routinely applied
• Starting points:
– ATAM
– UML descriptions (the same used by Cow Suite)
– Testability attribute
Workshop Pisatel – Roma, 22/11/2001
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Assessment of SA attributes (2)
• SEI ATAM (Architecture Tradeoff Analysis Method)
– Qualitative evaluation of a specific quality attribute
– How the quality attributes interact (tradeoff)
– Support to take architectural decisions and evaluate their consequences
• Stepwise method, centered on assemblies and brainstorming
• Basic concepts:
– Quality attribute characterization (utility tree)
– Scenarios
– Elicitation by questioning
Workshop Pisatel – Roma, 22/11/2001
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Example of Utility Tree
Utility Tree
Utility
Performance
Modifiability
Availability
Stimuli
The external stimuli that cause the SA to respond or to change
Parameters
Aspects that have a direct impact on attribute measures
Responses
Measurable/observable quantities relative to the quality attributes
Workshop Pisatel – Roma, 22/11/2001
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Our work (complementary to ATAM)
Utility
testabilità
Stimoli
Descrizione
architetturale
Parametri
Tipi di test utilizzabili
Risposte
Valutazione
Quantitativa
Class diagram
Vista Concettuale
Sequence diagram
Livello di sistema
State diagram
Packege diagram
Vista Modulare
Livello di sottosistema
Configurazione statica
Class diagram
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Workshop Pisatel – Roma, 22/11/2001
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CB sw development
• Survey of approaches
• J2EE, Enterprise Java beans
• Investigation of the testing process for CBSE
– The component implementor view
– The component assembler view
• Suitable documentation associated with the
component for test purposes
Workshop Pisatel – Roma, 22/11/2001
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Statistical Predictions in
Multi Project Management
• IDEA: using performance analysis techniques for
managing teams and time to completion
• Pros
– statistical significance of predictions
– capability to manage concurrent projects and resources
multitasking
• Cons
– Too technical knowledge for managers
WE USE UML!!!!
Workshop Pisatel – Roma, 22/11/2001
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Statistical Predictions in
Multi Project Management
• From a UML description of the process to
Queueing Network models via automated
transformation
• Previous work: UML with Ad-hoc annotations
• To be done: using Real time UML
Workshop Pisatel – Roma, 22/11/2001
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Project Team
• Staff from IEI and ERI
Antonia Bertolino, Alberto Ribolini - IEI
Gaetano Lombardi, Giovanni Nucera - ERI
• 2 PhD students, 1 one-year grant, 1 master student
Eda Marchetti, PhD Student
Andrea Polini, PhD Student
Francesca Basanieri, AR
Elisabetta Olivelli, master student
• External collaborations
Raffaela Mirandola (U. Roma Tor Vergata)
Paola Inverardi, Henry Muccini (U. L’Aquila)
Workshop Pisatel – Roma, 22/11/2001
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