Synopses & Reviews
Real-Life MDA
Solving Business Problems with Model Driven Architecture
Michael Guttman
John Parodi
"This is an exceptional book. Instead of stringing syllables of technological pieces together, the authors tell the whole story; they manage to tie backgrounds, motivations and organizational impact into the big picture."
Dragan Djuric, PhD, Department of Information Systems, FON, University of Belgrade, Serbia
The technical side of model driven architecture is well documented. Real-Life MDA is the first book to take an extended look at this exciting new approach to software development in the context of real business needs. Authors Guttman and Parodi don’t tell you what MDA can do for your company; instead, they provide a detailed account of what it has done for six different organizations, both governmental and corporate, each with its own goals, structure, and processes.
Each of these end user case studies begin with the business problem to be solved, continues by charting the entire process from selection of tools to client experiences, and ends by offering a realistic assessment of the results. The authors then summarize the studies by determining common factors, discussing what organizations can benefit most from MDA, and sketching several scenarios for its use.
Features
* Written for executives, analysts, architects, and engineers positioned to influence business-oriented software development at the highest levels.
* Filled with concrete examples and analyses of how MDA is relevant for organizations of various sizes.
* Considers a range of uses for MDA—from business process analysis to full-scale software modeling and development.
* Presents results for each case study in terms of tangible, measured benefits, including automatically generated code, defect reduction, improved visibility, and ROI.
About the Authors
Michael Guttman is a well-known visionary in the areas of IT strategic planning and enterprise architecture. He has been active in the development of a number of industry standards, including CORBA, UML, and MDA. He is the co-author of "The Object Technology Revolution" (1996), and "Developing E-Business Systems and Architectures" (2000) and is a regular columnist in Software Magazine. Mr. Guttman is currently CTO of The Voyant Group.
John Parodi is a software technical communication specialist, writing on topics that include middleware, enterprise integration, security, software architecture, and development methodologies. He is editor of “The MDA Journal: Model Driven Architecture Straight From The Masters” (2004). Mr. Parodi is the Director of Technical Communications with The Voyant Group.
Review
hese are people who have seen a lot in the industry and have a gift for articulating important trends."David Frankel, consultant and author
Review
"The need for this bookNo one has published a similar compendium of MDA case studies, making a transition to new technology is not simply a technical affair, although many of us tend to overlook this point, and the authors are superb writers. These are people who have seen a lot in the industry and have a gift for articulating important trends."David Frankel, consultant and author
Synopsis
Model Driven Architecture (MDA) is a new approach to software development that helps companies manage large, complex software projects and save development costs while allowing new technologies that come along to be readily incorporated. Although it is based on many long-standing industry precepts and best practices, such as UML, it is enough of a departure from traditional IT approaches to require some "proof of the pudding."
Real-Life MDA is composed of six case studies of real companies using MDA that will furnish that proof. The authors' approach MDA projects by describing all aspects of the project from the viewpoint of the end-usersfrom the reason for choosing an MDA approach to the results and benefits. The case studies are preceded by an introductory chapter and are followed by a wrap-up chapter summarizing lessons learned.
* Written for executives, analysts, architects, and engineers positioned to influence business-oriented software development at the highest levels.
* Filled with concrete examples and analyses of how MDA is relevant for organizations of various sizes.
* Considers a range of uses for MDA—from business process analysis to full-scale software modeling and development.
* Presents results for each case study in terms of tangible, measured benefits, including automatically generated code, defect reduction, improved visibility, and ROI.
Synopsis
The first field reports of MDA from leading companies
About the Author
Michael Guttman has over twenty-five years of expertise architecting, developing, and deploying large-scale complex enterprise software systems and infrastructures. He currently serves as director for the Object Management Group's MDA FastStart Program. Previously, he was chief technology officer (CTO) of Genesis Development Corporation, which he co-founded in 1992. After Genesis was sold to enterprise software vendor IONA Technologies, Mr. Guttman subsequently served as IONA's VP of Strategic Technology, and helped manage the operational integration of the two companies. While at Genesis and IONA, Mr. Guttman managed the development of SureTrack™, a groundbreaking process for transitioning large IT organizations to advanced software technologies. Mr. Guttman also was a major contributor to numerous key technology standards, including OMG's CORBA, which has become the embedded messaging protocol of choice for sophisticated enterprise middleware from such vendors as BEA, IBM, and Sun. More recently, he has been working with the OMG to promote the OMG's Model Driven Architecture (MDA), an integrated set of enterprise computing standards which includes Unified Modeling Language (UML), Meta-Object Facility (MOF), XML Meta-Data Interchange (XMI), and Common Warehouse Meta-Model (CWM). Mr. Guttman has been a contributing editor for such publications such as
PCWorld,
PCWeek (now
e-Week),
Object Magazine,
Java Report,
Application Development Advisor,
Application Development Trends, and
Software Magazine, where he currently authors a column on MDA. He is also a co-author of two highly regarded books on advanced uses of distributed computing technology,
The Object Technology Revolution (Wiley, 1996) and
Developing E-Business Systems and Architectures: A Manager's Guide (Morgan Kaufmann, 2000).John Parodi has more than twenty years experience in technical communication, including award-winning white papers, user documentation, trade press articles, technical overviews, and presentations on topics that include middleware, enterprise integration, security, software architecture, and development methodologies.
Independent Consultant, Epsom, New Hampshire, U.S.A.
Table of Contents
Foreword
Preface
I. Introduction
II. Case Studies (this structure repeats for each of the six case studies)
A. Why the client chose an MDA Approach and What They Hoped to Achieve
B. How MDA Was Used
1. Process and Tools
2. Actual Project Experience
3. (Optional) Organizational Development
C. Results and Benefits
D. Ongoing and Planned Use of MDA
E. Client Assessment of the MDA Experience
III. Summary and Conclusions
A. Common Factors in MDA Usage and Success
B. Who Is Likely To Benefit from MDA?
C. Selected Scenarios of MDA Uptake
D. Final Words
Glossary
Index