Software Process Modeling

Question 1

What is described by process models?

Answer 1

• What is done?
• When is it done?
• Things used and produced
• Who does it?

Question 2

Possible process information requests

Answer 2

• What artifacts are produced/consumed?
• What activities are performed?
• Who participates?
• What activities produce/consume which artifacts?
• What agents are responsible for performing each activity?
• how are activities decomposed?
• How are artifacts related to each other?
• How are agents related to each other?
• When do activities begin and end?
• What does the activity do?
• Why is the activity performed?
• What is the artifact?
• Who is the agent?
• What policies and standards govern the activity, artifact agent?
• What references are needed?
• What concepts does the reader need to know?
• Which additional constraints exist?

Question 3

Why Process Model?

Answer 3

• To enable effective understanding and communication
• To improve software development activities
• To support project management
• To guide developers
• To support re-use of process knowledge
• To support analysis and simulation of processes.

Question 4

What is a process?

Answer 4

A set of partially ordered steps intended to manage, develop, and maintain software systems.

Question 5

What is a Process Model?

Answer 5

• An abstract process description
• Includes description of:
  
  • Process steps
  • Artifacts
  • Roles
  • Resources
  • Constraints

Question 6

Types of models

Answer 6

• Descriptive: Documents the actual process
• Prescriptive: Used to define the process that should be followed.

Question 7

Problems with processes

Answer 7

• Processes are not (explicitly) defined at all
• Processes are not executed as expected/prescribed
• Knowledge about processes is distributed
• There is no clear criteria by whom processes should be conducted
• No clear criteria when to start and when to terminate processes
• Processes are understood different from what is described
• prcesses are described wrongly (inconsistent)
• The selected process is wrong.

Question 8

Process Types

Answer 8

• Real World
  
  • Actual process (What the process really is)
  • Observed process (What the process agent thinks the process really is)
• Model World
  
  • Process (What the process owner (management) wants the process to be)
  • Official process (What the process owner says the process should be (e.g. described in a handbook))
  • Perceived process (What the process agent understands the process to be)