Current News
14 December 2007	Industrialized Software SoftMetaWare joins Industrialized Software, a community of Model Driven Software Product Line Engineering practitioners, and a public domain repository of best practices for sustainable software evolution. The goal is to provide a clear picture of what constitutes industrialized software production, and most importantly, to show how industrialization has the potential to change the rules of the game on a global scale, and how it impacts software intensive businesses in a fundamental way.
25 September 2007	SoftMetaWare job openings Our business in Europe is expanding. We are currently hiring in Switzerland, and have plans for incrementally growing our Swiss team over the next 24 months. Information about the roles that we are recruiting for is available on our web site: Software Engineering Consultant for MDD System Architect for MDD Software Tooling Engineer Application Engineer If you would like to be considered for open positions with Sofismo AG (our Swiss sister company), please submit a current CV for assessment against our evaluation criteria.
19 May 2006	MDSD - Techniques, Engineering, Management (Thomas Stahl / Markus Völter, with Jorn Bettin, Wolfgang Lorenz, Tim Weilkiens, 2006) The English edition of our Model Driven Software Development book is now available.
26 April 2006	Transitioning to Model Driven Software Development: Preparing for the Paradigm Shift It is time for a major stock take of model driven software development approaches within software intensive industries. The term "Model Driven" has gone through the usual hype cycle, and the dust is in the process of settling. This article analyzes the current situation from a tool vendor independent perspective, and it provides practical recommendations for the adoption of a Model Driven Software Development paradigm. Available in the white papers section.
14 July 2005	SoftMetaWare partners with ObjectFrontier Jorn Bettin, SoftMetaWare's Managing Director: ObjectFrontier has an impressive software development capability in the Java technology arena that provides an ideal extension to our service offering. ObjectFrontier's technical expertise is evident in the performance of its flagship product, FrontierSuite for J2EE v 3.1 (CMP/JDO/FCM), which is the first SunToneTM certified freeware persistence framework. The partnership allows us to offer competitive Java software development services of the highest quality to the Australian, New Zealand, and European markets James Walter, CEO of ObjectFrontier Software: We are pleased to join forces with SoftMetaWare which has developed a unique model driven software engineering methodology that addresses the needs of distributed global teams. SoftMetaWare's Industrialized Software Asset Development (ISAD) approach provides a seamless interface to our software development capability in India. It enables customers to benefit not only from highly skilled offshore resources, but also from a largely automated software production facility, and a fast incremental delivery model with extensive on-site involvement of the client in requirements specification, architectural design, and validation of deliverables. Key points: No vendor lock-in. The software production facility is tailored specifically for each client, and is comprised entirely of Open Source and freeware components. The client fully controls the degree of outsourcing, enabling in-house software development to be complemented with best-in-class external software development expertise for specialized types of components. More...
12 July 2005	SoftMetaWare partners with IBRS in Australia and New Zealand IBRS' Managing Director, Mr. Nick Bowman: We are pleased to join forces with SoftMetaWare which has a strong reputation at the leading edge of software engineering. There are many Australian organizations which could benefit from their ideas in development and design. Jorn Bettin, SoftMetaWare's Managing Director: The IBRS research and consulting offer will suit many New Zealand businesses because it is scaled to their needs and has in-depth knowledge of the issues they face. IBRS clients have access to a wide range of research papers dealing with IT and business issues, such as open source; IT governance; communications planning and organizational management. More...
4 April 2005	Management of the Object-Oriented Software Development Process (Edited by Boris Roussev & Liping Liu. Jorn Bettin et al, 2005) From the preface: ... The book paints a holistic picture of the multi-faceted problems in object-oriented software development. It should be of interest to software developers, project managers, system analysts, and graduate and upper-level college students majoring in information systems and computer science who would like to deepen their knowledge in the field of object-oriented project management. ... In [the chapter] "Managing Complexity with MDSD," Jorn Bettin, director of an international strategic technology management consultancy, addresses the question of how to create durable and scalable software architectures, so that the underlying design intent survives over a period of many years. Bettin goes beyond object-orientation and traditional iterative software development to define a set of guiding principles for component encapsulation and abstraction, and to form the foundation for a model-driven approach to software development.
1 March 2005	Modellgetriebene Softwareentwicklung Techniken, Engineering, Management (Thomas Stahl / Markus Völter, mit Beiträgen von Jorn Bettin, Wolfgang Lorenz, Tim Weilkiens, 2005) Die modellgetriebene Softwareentwicklung oder Model Driven Software Development (MDSD) befasst sich mit der Automatisierung in der Software-Herstellung. Dies bedeutet, dass Infrastrukturcode, Subsysteme oder ganze Anwendungen generativ aus formalen Modellen abgeleitet werden. Dieses Buch beleuchtet das Thema aus den Perspektiven Technik, Engineering und Management. Mir gefällt das Buch ausserordentlich gut! Endlich ein Buch das eine vollständigen Überblick über die Thematik gibt: über die verschiedenen Ansätze zu MDSD und deren Möglichkeiten und Ziele, aber auch über organisatorische und wirtschaftliche Aspekte zum Einsatz von MDSD. Alle Themen werden pragmatisch und praxisorientiert dargestellt und durch Beispiele aus realen Anwendungen erläutert. Für mich gehört das Buch auf den Tisch eines jeden, der MDSD einsetzt oder erwägt, MDSD einzusetzen. -- Frank Buschmann SIEMENS CT
7 November 2004	The MDA Journal : MDA Straight from the Masters (Edited by David Frankel & John Parodi. Oliver Sims, Stephen Mellor, David Frankel, Jorn Bettin et al, 2004) MDA is one of the most important technological developments of this decade. David Frankel has done a singular service by bringing together some of the best minds to reflect on the role and value of MDA. I am pleased to recommend The MDA Journal to anyone who wants to gain a comprehensive overview of the issues involved in using MDA. -- Paul Harmon Executive Editor Business Process Trends In these pages you will find the vital discussion of a young discipline by the developers, practitioners and theorists who are creating standards and products for this evolutionary revolution. While this isn’t a reference manual or even a technology guide, it’s an important way to quickly understand the issues involved in implementing an MDA approach. I leave you in the hands of several masters of the craft. Enjoy your own evolution! -- Richard Mark Soley, Ph.D. Chairman and CEO Object Management Group, Inc.
23 September 2004	Process Implications of MDSD This article by Jorn Bettin in OBJEKTspektrum (in German) summaries the key qualitative differences between model driven software development and traditional iterative software development. An English translation is available in the white papers section.
10 July 2004	Introduction to Software Mass Customization This article by Jorn Bettin in Mass Customization News, a newsletter on Mass Customization, Personalization and Customer Integration, introduces the mass customization concept as it applies to the development of mass-customized software products.
23 June 2004	Case Studies - what our customers say about us on the following topics: The SoftMetaWare work ethic - real knowledge transfer: "Knowledge transfer from SoftMetaWare has allowed our organization to continue the work on our own. Knowledge transfer was a key goal of the <agile techniques> project. Our organization needs to sustain the development and maintenance of quality software in a repeatable and predictable fashion without relying on external consultants." More... SoftMetaWare process frameworks are tailored by working with the people who need to use the process. The users of a process should have the last word in implementing the process: "Feedback from those involved - including those in the field - has been positive. The project has also revitalised the Business Analyst group within our organization and given them a new enthusiasm." More... Software Product Line Engineering Expertise: "SoftMetaWare expertise proved to be invaluable for making complex decisions about product architecture, choice of development locations, and the best use of modern software engineering technologies." More... There is never a good time for change, right? "If we can regain so much ground on our first real-life application of these techniques, then it bodes well for when we are truly proficient in their use." More... The true meaning of agility: "Another fundamental aspect of user involvement relates to scope control and change control. The monthly scope trading workshops put the responsibility on the users to determine what gets built and when" More...
17 June 2004	Complexity & Dependency Management: Creating an environment for Software Asset Evolution and Software Mass Customization This white paper addresses the question of how to successfully create durable and scalable software architectures by using component based development and applying a simple set of rules to manage complexity and dependencies. Additionally the paper shows how the concept of Open Source software can be leveraged as a driver for innovation in commercial software development. Available in the white papers section.
12 May 2004	Training Course: Agile Management and Requirements Engineering for MDSD This 5-day course for Project Managers, Business Analysts, and Software Architects covers the essential techniques for agile project management, agile requirements management, and requirements modelling that need to be in place before an organization embarks on Model-Driven Software Development (MDSD). More...
12 May 2004	Model-Driven Software Development Activities: The process view of an MDSD project This white paper focuses on the macro-level software modeling and development activities that are characteristic of the MDSD paradigm. Available in the white papers section.
16 April 2004	Model-Driven Software Development Teams: Building a software supply chain for distributed global teams This white paper examines different software product development models from the perspective of a product vendor, i.e. from the perspective of a company building and selling software product lines. Available in the white papers section.
6 April 2004 Business Process Trends	Introduction to Model-Driven Software Development Business Process Trends, a primary source of news and information relating to all aspects of business process change, focused on trends, directions and best practices publishes an introduction to MDSD in Dave Frankel's MDA Journal. This article presents MDSD in-a-nutshell for a general audience interested in Business Process Management.
15 March 2004	Web-based Knowledge Base for Model-Driven Software Development SoftMetaWare is one of the sponsors of www.mdsd.info, a site that is intended as the focal point for the latest information about Model-Driven Software Development.
15 March 2004	Planned Model-Driven Software Development Events at OOPSLA'04 and GPCE'04 Together with other experts in the field of automated software development we are organizing a workshop on Best Practices for MDSD and a MDSD Tutorial for the colocated OOPSLA and GPCE conferences in Vancouver.
21 February 2004	Release 1.0 of the Open Source Time Conscious ObjectsTM Toolkit Download the core Time Conscious Objects (TCO) framework! The TCO toolkit allows you to achieve a completely uniform implementation of all aspects of the time dimension throughout your software, and is designed such that existing Java classes in your code base can be made Time Conscious in an unobtrusive way. This enables incremental cleanup of ad-hoc implementations of time-related behaviour, and it provides opportunities to substantially improve overall quality of complex business logic. In the next weeks further components of the TCO toolkit will be donated to the Open Source community. TCO will fundamentally change the way you think about time, and will raise the level of abstraction at which you specify time-related behaviour and time-dependent properties. Register your interest in TCO to be notified about planned features, new releases, and available updates. More...
6 February 2004	MDSD: An emerging paradigm for Industrialized Software Asset Development New white paper on "Model-Driven Software Development". The MDSD paradigm is based on model-driven software development techniques and a classification of software into strategic assets, non-strategic assets, and liabilities. Available in the white papers section.
18 January 2004	Decision to release the basic Time Conscious ObjectsTM Toolkit in Open Source format The Open Source version of the Time Conscious Objects (TCO) toolkit will be made available on our web site within the coming month.
Events
3-4 May 2006 Nantes, France	2nd AMMA/ATL Workshop on Model Engineering INRIA has been developing an Eclipse-based platform for model engineering named AMMA (ATLAS Model Management Architecture), with the model transformation language ATL as one main component. The Eclipse GMT project (Generative Modeling Tools) is handling most of the open source contributed in this project. Industrial users include Thales, ILOG, Airbus, CS, TNI, NASA/JPL and many more in Europe and North America. These tools are being used in several other European projects by various external partners. In cooperation with Thales, they will be made more available to other companies (Dassault, IFP, EADS, etc.) in the System@tic Usine Logicielle project and the in the OpenEmbeDD RNTL project. The workshop is an occasion for some of the users of AMMA/ATL to meet and to exchange ideas. This meeting is also an opportunity to present some of the planned extensions to these tools. Finally it is an occasion to express suggestions and wishes for future directions of the AMMA Platform.
1-6 October 2006 Genoa, Italy	MoDELS / UML 2006 The MoDELS series of conferences are devoted to the topic of model-driven engineering, covering both languages and systems used to create complex systems. These conferences are both an expansion and a re-direction of previous Unified Modeling Language (UML) conferences, and replaced that series of conference since last year. Model-driven system development has long been used in the development of complex hardware systems. It is becoming more prevalent in complex software or combined hardware and software systems development as methodologies and tools become available that can manipulate software models from very abstract concepts through refinement and testing. The MoDELS series of conferences is the premier venue for the exchange of innovative technical ideas and experiences relating to model-driven approaches in the development of software-based systems.
News Archive
29-30 August 2005 Canberra, Australia Government Technology Evolution Australia 2005 will bring together global government IT thought leaders, practitioners and industry experts to discuss key issues in how the face of service delivery is evolving and the kinds of technologies that can be adopted internally and externally to enhance it. It will be Australia's premier government technology event.	Government Technology Evolution Australia 2005 Jorn Bettin from SoftMetaWare conducts a full-day workshop Building Durable Enterprise Architectures: Extending Build versus Buying Decision Frameworks with Open Source Options at this important event. With the ever-growing pressures of reducing expenditures, increasing efficiency, improving performance, enhancing reliability and most of all not being locked in, departments and agencies are exploring the rich support that open source components provide in building adaptable and durable enterprise architectures. In this highly interactive and practical workshop, gain a more indepth understanding of open source options and how they can support durable enterprise architectures.
16-20 October 2005 San Diego, California	Conference on Object-Oriented Languages, Systems, and Applications 2005 SoftMetaWare activities scheduled for the OOPSLA conference in San Diego: Together with other experts in Model-Driven Software Development we are organizing a workshop Best Practices for Model Driven Software Development
24-28 October 2004 Vancouver, Canada	Conference on Generative Programming and Component Engineering 2004 Meet us at GPCE'04, which is colocated with OOPSLA this year.
24-28 October 2004 Vancouver, Canada	Conference on Object-Oriented Languages, Systems, and Applications 2004 SoftMetaWare activities at the collocated OOPSLA and GPCE conferences in Vancouver: Together with other experts in Model-Driven Software Development we are organizing a workshop Best Practices for MDSD Jorn Bettin from SoftMetaWare and Markus Völter are presenting a tutorial MDSD: Introduction & Best Practices
30 Aug. - 2 Sept. 2004 Boston, Massachusetts	Software Product Lines Conference 2004 Software product lines represent an important and growing software development paradigm, and SPLC is a leading forum for researchers and practitioners working in the field.
7-11 July 2004 Irsee, Germany	European Conference on Pattern Languages of Programs 2004 Markus Völter and Jorn Bettin from SoftMetaWare are presenting Patterns for Model-Driven Software Development.
10-11 June 2004 MDA® Foundations & Applications	Model-Driven Architecture® Foundations and Applications 2004 The goal of MDAFA 2004 is to understand the foundations, to analyse the state of-the-art, to identify problems and solutions, to outline future research directions and to share experience in applying MDA techniques and tools. Don't miss it if you're in Europe!
19-20 November 2003 Auckland, New Zealand Measurement Systems for IT	Conference on Measurement Systems for IT Jorn Bettin from SoftMetaWare talks about the relevance and limitations of Metrics for Software Development and Maintenance. Measuring software development is fraught with difficulties in practice. One just needs to look at the attempts to define metrics for reuse to see that it is anything but an exact science. Nevertheless, software metrics can provide some objectivity if the limitations are understood, and simple measurements can be used to keep software projects "on track".
26-30 October 2003 Anaheim, California	Conference on Object-Oriented Languages, Systems, and Applications 2003 As part of the Domain-Driven Development (3D) track at OOPSLA'03 SoftMetaWare and other experts in the field of automated software development are organizing the 2nd Workshop on Generative Techniques in the Context of MDA. SoftMetaWare is presenting a prototype of Time Conscious ObjectsTM in a poster session and a practical demonstration. Time is a crosscutting concern that is hard to separate from other business logic. Time Conscious Objects (TCO) is a Java toolkit that allows existing business application systems to be extended with "time conscious" behaviour by factoring out all aspects of time-related behaviour into a framework and a set of classes that is distinct from the existing code base. The Generative Model Transformer team is presenting the GMT Open Source MDATM initiative in a poster session and a practical demonstration.
14-16 October 2003 Toronto, Canada	International Web Services/XML Conference and Expo Craig Cleaveland from SoftMetaWare is presenting Automatic Generation of Web Applications and Services. Many web applications and services fall into well defined patterns and architectures. Program generation techniques can be used to automatically generate these applications from high level specifications that describe data requirements, user interfaces, security requirements, and collaboration features. War Wizard, a tool for creating standard WAR files will be used to demonstrate this technology.
6-8 October 2003 Munich, Germany MCPC'03	World Congress on Mass Customization and Personalization (MCP) 2003 Contact us if you want to meet SoftMetaWare at MCPC'03. The MCP Congress in 2003 is the second large scale international event of its kind and especially organised to approach the field of MCP.
22-25 September 2003 Erfurt, Germany	Conference on Generative Programming and Component Engineering 2003 We support GPCE'03. Don't miss it if you're in Europe.
28 August 2003	New white paper on best practices for CBD and MDATM The paper covers important, but often ignored aspects of component-based development. Available in the white papers section.
20 May 2003	The Generative Model Transformer project goes live on Eclipse.org The GMT project has become a technology sub-project of the Eclipse project. Visit www.eclipse.org/gmt/ to check out the latest status of this open source initiative.
19 January 2003	Inception of the GMT project SoftMetaWare and Bronstee.com lead the GMT project, an open source initiative to construct/assemble a set of tools for model driven software production with fully customisable Platform Independent Models, Platform Description Models, Texture Mappings, and Refinement Transformations. The project is expected to result in: A tool that fulfils the MDATM promise for faster/more accurate/better maintainable application development. A tool for industrial use. MDATM related research - which is encouraged and needed. Results will be factored into the project where applicable.
5 November 2002	OOPSLA workshop Generative Techniques in the context of MDA SoftMetaWare is organizing an OOPSLA workshop in collaboration with other experts in the field of automated software development. The workshop focuses on generative techniques that can be used to realize Model-driven Architecture (MDA). The aim is to bring together practitioners, researchers, academics, and students to discuss their experience with generative techniques and MDA.
26 October 2002	Proposal for an Open Source Project to develop a Model-Driven Architecture Tool SoftMetaWare and Bronstee.com propose to develop a tool providing UML modeling facilities [including meta-modelling facilities as envisaged in UML 2.0] and a good template based code generation engine together with a suitable implementation of textures.
3 May 2002	Resources on Generative Programming Within the generative programming community, Joost Visser has created a Generative Programming Wiki, which contains a wealth of valuable information on automated software design and development.

Comment: A failed attempt of damage control.

A development process that relies on a large number of people to achieve a fixed deadline is a recipe for failure. Model driven architecture provides the means to leverage the skills of your best architects and designers. A high degree of automation lowers the risks, relies on fewer people, allows short iterations, and delivers better results in less time.

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