Analysis of Methods TECHNICAL REPORT
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Analysis of Methods Final Report Richard J. Mayer, ed. Knowledge Based Systems Laboratory Texas A&M University March 8, 1991 w -o _0 co ! m f_ U cD C 0 Z 0 Cooperative Agreement NCC 9-16 Research Activity No. IM.06: Methodologies for Integrated 0 Information Management Systems r CDOC NASA Johnson Space Center Information Systems Directorate Information Technology Division -J • 0 _D A _OE e._ ,t C I LL -C,-- ::2" I C" m E Research Institute for Computing and Information Systems v;I _0 University of Houston-C/ear Lake TECHNICAL REPORT The RICIS Concept The University of Houston-Clear Lake established the Research lnsUtute for Computing and Information Systems (RICIS) in 1986 to encourage the NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) and local industry to actively support research in the computing and information sciences. As part of thls endeavor. UHCL proposed a partnership with JSC to Jointly define and manage an integrated program of research in advanced data processing technology needed for JSC's main missions, including administrative, engineering and science responsi- bilities. JSC agreed and entered into a continuing cooperative agreement with UHCL beginning in May 1986, to Jointly plan and execute such research through RICIS. Additionally, under Cooperative Agreement NCC 9-16, computing and educaUonal facilities are shared by the two instituUons to conduct the research. The UHCL/RICIS mission is to conduct, coordinate, and disseminate research and professional level edueaUon in computing and information systems to serve the needs of the government, industry, community and academia. RICIS combines resources ofUHCLand Itsgateway affiliatestoresearch and develop materials, prototypes and publications on topics of mutual interest to its sponsors and researchers. Within UHCL, the mission is being implemented through interdisciplinary involvement of faculty and students from each of the four schools: Business and Public Administration, Educa- tion, Human Sciences and Humanities, and Natural and Applied Sciences. RICIS also collaborates with industry in a companion program. This program is focused on serving the research and advanced development needs of industry. Moreover, UHCL established relaUonshlps with other universities and re- search organizations, having common research interests, to provide addi- tional sources of expertise to conduct needed research. For example, UHCL m has entered into a special partnership with Texas A&M University to help oversee RICIS research an4 education programs, while other research organizaUons are involved via the "gateway" concepL ===_ A major role of RICIS then is to find the best match of sponsors, researchers and research objectives to advance knowledge in the computing and informa- Uon sciences. RICIS.working Jointlywith itssponsors, advises on research needs, recommends principalsforconducting the research, provldcs tech- nicaland administraUve support to coordinate the research and integrates technicalresultsintothe goals of UHCL, NASA/JSC and industry. Analysis of Methods Final Report RICIS Preface This research was conducted under auspices of the Research Institute for Computing and Information Systems by Dr. Richard J. Mayer, Keith A. Ackley, M. Sue Wells, Dr. Paula S.D. Mayer, Thomas M. Blinn, Louis P. Decker, Joel A. Toland, J. Wesley Crump, Dr. Christopher P. Menzel, Charles A. Bodenmiller and Michael T. Futrell of Texas A&M University; Stu Coleman and Timothy Ramey of PIM, Inc. and Dr. Tom Cullinane of Northeastern University. Dr. Peter C. Bishop served as RICIS research coordinator. Funding has been provided by the Air Force Armstrong Laboratory, Logistics Research Division, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base via the Information Systems Directorate, NASA/JSC through Cooperative Agreement NCC 9-16 between the NASA Johnson Space Center and the University of Houston-Clear Lake. The NASA technical monitor for this research activity was Robert T. Savely of the Information Technology Division, NASA/JSC. The views and conclusions contained in this report are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as representative of the official policies, either express or implied, of NASA or the United States Government. Analysis of Methods KBSL - 89- 1001 Knowledge Based Systems Laboratory Department of Industrial Engineering Texas A&M University College Station, TX 77843 Copyright ©1989, Texas A&M University Permission to use, copy. and distribute this document for any purpose and without fee is hereby granted, provided that the above copyright notice appears in all copies and that both the copyright notice and this permission notice appear in supporting documentation, and that the name of Texas A&M University not be used in advertising or publicity pertaining to the distribution of the document without specific, written prior permission. The information in this document is subject to change without notice, and should not be construed as a commitment by Texas A&M University. Texas A&M University assumes no responsibility for the use of this information. The views contained in this document are those of the research team. and should not be interpreted as representing the policies, either expressed or implied, of the United States Air Force, NASA, or of the RICIS Program Office. Analysis of Methods Edited by Richard J. Mayer, PhD Authors Richard J. Mayer, PhD Louis P. Decker Keith A. Ackley Joel A. Toland M. Sue Wells J. Wesley Crump Paula S.D. Mayer, PhD Christopher Menzel, PhD Thomas M. Blinn Charles A. Bodenmiller Michael T. Futrell Stu Coleman, PIM Inc. Timothy Ramey, PIM Inc. Tom CuUinane, PhD Northeastern Unversity Final Report March 8, 1991 Acknowledgements: This report describes ongoing research at the Knowledge Based Systems Laboratory of the Department of Industrial Engineering at Texas A&M University. Funding for the lab's research in Integrated Information System Development Methods and Tools has been provided by the United States Air Force Hum..an Resources .Laboratory , .AI_..I-IRL_RL, Wright Patterson Air Force Base, umo 434Jj, unaer me technical direction of USAF Captain Michael K. Painter, under subcontract through the NASA RICIS Program at the University of Houston. Additional funding has beenprovided by Tandem Computer Corporation for broader coverage in the analysis of existing methods as represented by the Data Flow Analysis and Structure Chart chapters. Table of Contents Introduction ............................. 1 IDEFI: Information Modeling ................... 4 History and Purpose .............................. 4 Syntax and Semantics ............................. 6 Entity Class, Attribute Class, and Key Class ............... 7 Link (or Relation) Classes ......................... 9 Inheritance ................................ 11 Metamodel ................................. 12 Entity classes and Owned Attribute Classes .............. 13 Link Classes ............................... 14 Key Classes ............................... 15 Attribute Classes in Key Classes .................... 15 Strengths and Weaknesses ......................... 16 Tips and Traps ................................ 16 Integration With Other Methodologies ................... 17 Conclusions ................................. 17 IDEF0: Method for Function Modeling ............. 20 History and Purpose ............................. 20 Syntax and Semantics ............................ 23 Basic Symbols (IDEF0 lexicon) ..................... 23 Grammar Rules for Function Descriptions ............... 24 Concepts ................................. 26 Metamodel ................................. 27 Activities and Decompositions ..................... 28 Structures and Concepts ......................... 28 Links .................................. 31 Paths ................................... 31 Strengths and Weaknesses of IDEF0 .................... 32 Integration With Other Methodologies ................... 33 Table of Contents Conclusions ................................. 33 ENALIM: Conceptual Schema Design ............. 37 History and Purpose ............................ 37 Syntax and Semantics ............................ 38 NOLOT (NOn Lexical Object Type) .................. 38 LOT (Lexical Object Type) ........................ 39 Fact Types ................................ 39 Role Constraints ............................. 40 Identifier Constraint ......................... 40 Role Uniqueness Constraint ..................... 42 Total Role Constraint ........................ 42 Role Equality Constraint ...................... 42 Role Exclusion Constraint ..................... 43 Role Subset Constraint ..... .................. 43 Subtype Constraints ........................... 44 Subtype Exclusion Constraint .................... 44 Subtype Total Constraint ...................... 45 Metamodel ................................. 45 NOLOT Families ............................ 45 Fact Types ................................ 47 Total Role Constraint .......................... 47 Subtype Constraints ........................... 48 Role Constraints ............................. 48 Strengths and Weaknesses ......................... 49 Tips and Traps ................................ 50 Integration With Other Methodologies ................... 50 Conclusions ................................. 50 IDEFlx: Data Modeling ..................... 53 History and Purpose ............................. 53 Syntax and Semantics ............................ 55 Entities ................................. 55 Analysis of Methods ii _ Table of Contents