The USC ATRIUM Laboratory Recent Publications Page

Need a Postscript viewer and printing utility? Get a Postscript viewer and print utility for MS-Windows and OS/2 systems called GSview.

• The Emergence of Electronic Commerce on the Internet, also available in HTML here, or for an interactive presentation version with some interesting WWW links, try here.). In this article, three questions are addressed. First, what is the Internet and what are its implications for modern businesses or strategic planners? Second, what are the current opportunities for using the Internet in different business activities? Third, what research is being persued in the USC School of Business Administration that can help better answer the preceding two questions? (appears in USC Business, 5:32-36, Fall 1994)
• Valuing IT through Virtual Process Measurement. The so called "productivity paradox" associated with information technology remains the focus of active research in information systems. One explanation involves the dearth of useful measures to assess the value of IT investments. A review of the predominant approaches to such measurement reveals a number of serious weaknesses and fundamental limitations. The research described in this paper addresses these limitations through a complementary methodology termed virtual process measurement (VPM). Through VPM, assessments of IT value are determined through the measurement of computer-based process representations (i.e., virtually), as opposed to measuring their real counterparts in ongoing organizations; this approach affords a number of advantages that are unattainable through extant techniques. In this paper, the VPM methodology is discussed in considerable detail, and examples from industry practice are used to demonstrate the use and utility of this approach. The paper closes with a set of conclusions and some possible directions for continued research. (appears in Proc. 15th. International Conference on Information Systems, Vancouver, Canada, 309-323, December 1994).
• Modeling, Integrating, and Enacting Complex Organizational Processes, or an html presentation version can be found here. We describe our approach and mechanisms to support the engineering of organizational processes throughout their life cycle. We describe our current understanding of what activities are included in the process life cycle. We then go on to describe our approach, computational mechanisms, and experiences in supporting many of these life cycle activities, as well as compare it to other related efforts. Along the way, we present examples drawn from a current study aimed at modeling, analyzing, and integrating an order fulfillment process in a product development organization. (appears in K. Carley, L. Gasser, and M. Prietula (eds.), Simulating Organizations: Computational Models of Institutions and Groups, MIT Press, 1998)
• Understanding Software Productivity. What affects software productivity and how do we improve it? This report examines the current state of the art in software productivity measurement. In turn, it describes a framework for understanding software productivity, some fundamentals of measurement, surveys empirical studies of software productivity, and identifies challenges involved in measuring software productivity. A radical alternative to current approaches is suggested: to construct, evaluate, deploy, and evolve a knowledge-based "software productivity modeling and simulation system" using tools and techniques from the domain of software process engineering. (appears in Intern. J. Software Engineering and Knowledge Engineering, 1(3):293-321, 1991. Revised and reprinted in  Advances in Software Engineering and  Knowledge Engineering, D. Hurley (ed.), Volume 4,  1995).
• Meta-Environments for Software Production. Researchers who create software production environments face considerable problems. Software production environments are large systems that are costly to develop. Furthermore, software production environments which support particular software engineering methods may not be applicable to a large number of software production projects. These conditions have formed a trend towards research into ways which will lessen the cost of developing software production environments. In particular, the trend has been towards the construction of meta-environments from which specific software production environments can be created. In this paper, we attempt to categorize more than 60 meta-environment efforts. For each of the categories, we review research efforts which illustrate different approaches within that category. We conclude by presenting an emerging common thread of requirements which links this field together. (appears in Intern. J. Soft. Engr. and Know. Engr., 3(2):139-162, May 1993. Revised and reprinted in Advances in Software Engineering and Knowledge Engineering, D. Hurley (ed.), Volume 4,  37-70, 1995).
• On the Power of Domain-Specific Hypertext Environments . What is the potential power of hypertext technology? This article examines this question and outlines the answer by focussing attention to a domaim-specific view of hypertext environments. I first define what domain-specific hypertext environments (DSHE) represent. Next, I examine DSHE for the domains of encyclopedic and classical studies, creative writing and interactive fiction, journal and book publishing, insurance policy management, and computer-aided software engineering. Then I describe in more detail the structure of information to evolve within a DSHE for software engineering in terms of document products, processing tasks and mechanisms, and workplace attributes. In turn, this examination provides the basis for identifying seven dimensions along which the power of DSHE can be defined, experienced, and accumulated. I also address the organizational costs that may be borne to realize this power. I conclude with observations as to the source of DSHE power as well as identifying topics for further investigation. (appears in Journal American Society Information Science, 40(3):183-191, May, 1989).
• Integrating Diverse Information Repositories: A Distributed Hypertext Approach. Today's networked information systems and software engineering environment is characterized by a multitude of autonomous, heterogeneous information repositories, a variety of incompatible user interfaces, diverse, unconventional data types, including text, graphics, and possibly video and sound, rapid change, both in structure and content, and multiple ways of viewing relationships among the same information items. Existing information storage mechanisms fail to combine diverse data types/models, complex objects and storage structures, personal views and organizations of shared objects, access to distributed, heterogeneous repositories, and ease of evolution. This paper examines these issues and describes a Distributed Hypertext (DHT) architecture that provides transparent access to autonomous, heterogeneous software object repositories, resulting in both a powerful organizational tool and a simple yet effective integration mechanism. (appears in Computer, 24(12):38-45, December 1991).
• A Hypertext System for Integrating Heterogeneous Autonomous Software Repositories. Hypertext is a simple concept for organizing information into a graph structure of linked container objects. This paper examines issues involved in applying hypertext concepts to the integration of heterogeneous, autonomous software repositories, and presents a solution called the Distributed Hypertext System (DHT). Based on a hypertext data model and client-server architecture, DHT features powerful modeling capabilities, integration of heterogeneous, pre-existing repositories, update with concurrency control, and full local autonomy. (appears in Proc. 4th. Irvine Software Symposium, University of California, Irvine, CA, 49-60, April, 1994)
• A Meta-Model for Formulating Knowledge-Based Models of Software Development. In this paper, we introduce a knowledge-based meta-model which serves as a unified resource model for integrating characteristics of major types of objects appearing in software development models (SDMs). The URM consists of a taxonomy of resource classes and a web of relations that link different types of resources found in different kinds of models of software development. The URM includes specialized models for software systems, documents, agents, tools, and development processes. The URM has served as the basis for integrating and interoperating a number of process-centered CASE environments. The major benefit of the URM is twofold: First, it forms a higher level of abstraction supporting SDM formulation that subsumes many typical models of software development objects. Hence, it enables a higher level of reusability for existing support mechanisms of these models. Second, it provides a basis to support complex reasoning mechanisms that address issues across different types of software objects. To explore these features, we describe the URM both formally and with a detailed example, followed by a characterization of the process of SDM composition, and then by a characterization of the life cycle of activities involved in an overall model formulation process. (appears in Decision Support Systems, 17(4):313-330, 1996).
• A knowledge-based environment for modeling and simulating software engineering processes. In this paper, we describe the design and representation schemes used in constructing a prototype computational environment for modeling and simulating multi-agent software engineering processes. We refer to this environment as the Articulator. We provide an overview of the Articulator's architecture which identifies five principal components. Three of these components, the knowledge meta-model, the software process behavior simulator, and a knowledge base querying mechanism are detailed and examples are included. The conclusion reiterates what is novel to this approach in applying knowledge engineering techniques to the problems of understanding the statics and dynamics of complex software engineering processes. (appears in IEEE Trans. Data and Knowledge Engineering, 2(3):283-294, September 1990. Reprinted in Nikkei Artificial Intelligence, 20(1):176-191, January 1991, (in Japanese). Reprinted in Process-Centered Software Engineering Environments, P.K. Garg and M. Jazayeri (eds.), IEEE Computer Society, 119-130, 1996)
• Process Integration in CASE Environments. Integrated CASE Environments (CASEEs) have been focused on tool and object integration. In this paper, we present a new type of integration called process integration as a strategy for creating process-centered CASEEs. We argue that the major benefits of process integration to software development include explicit process guidance and improved project management. We also present a few key components to implement process integration which form the backbone of a process-centered CASEE. These components include software process models, a process enactment mechanism, a developer's interface and a process manager's interface. Furthermore, our strategy implements process integration by merging these key components with existing CASEEs and creates process-centered CASEEs with reasonable effort. To exemplify this strategy, we have migrated an operational CASEE, the SOFTMAN environment, into a process-centered CASEE. (appears in IEEE Software,9(2):45-53, 1992. Reprinted in E. Chikoski (ed.), Computer-Aided Software Engineering (2nd. Edition), IEEE Computer Society Press, 1993).
• A Knowledge-Based Software Process Library for Process-Driven Software Development. Process-driven software development represents a technique for software production, in which a conceptual knowledge representation. called a software process, is used to represent and guide development activities. Management and reuse of software processes therefore becomes a requirement for process-driven software development. In this paper, we present a knowledge-based process library (SPLib) that supports the organization, access and reuse of software processes. SPLib consists of a knowledge base of software process representations. It also provides a set of process operations that support browsing, searching composition and abstraction. These operations reason about the content of software processes as well as maintain proper interdependency relationships among the software processes. To demonstrate the use of SPLib in process-driven software development, we provide a usage scenario where SPLib facilitates the access and reuse of software processes in real applications. (appears in Proc. 7th. Knowledge-Based Software Engineering Conf., Washington, DC, IEEE Computer Society, 122-131, September 1992.)
• Articulation: An Integrated Approach to the Diagnosis, Replanning, and Rescheduling of Software Process Failures This paper presents an integrated approach for how to articulate software engineering process plans that fail. The approach, called articulation, repairs a plan when a diagnosed failure occurs and reschedules changes that ensure the plan's continuation. In implementing articulation, we combine knowledge-based diagnosis, replanning, and rescheduling into a powerful mechanism supporting process-based software development. Use of articulation in plan execution supports recovery and repair of unanticipated failures, as well as revising and improving process plans to become more effective. In this paper, we also describe how a prototype knowledge-based system we developed implements this approach to articulation. (appears in Proc. 8th. Knowledge-Based Software Engineering Conference, Chicago, IL, IEEE Computer Society, 77-85, September 1993).
• Understanding the Requirements for Information System Documentation: An Empirical Investigation. Software and Information Systems (IS) documents are a common product of large IS development efforts. These documents are produced and consumed through a variety of documentation processes. These  processes involve developers and users working within complex organizational settings, as well as with the focal system under development. These organizational settings facilitate and constrain IS documentation and development efforts in complicated ways. Accordingly, we present, analyze, and compare cases from field studies of three different IS development efforts in a large industrial corporation. Based on these studies, we identify a new set of variables and hypotheses that we believe represent a more plausible set of requirements for IS documentation products and processes in different organizational settings. In this regard, we utilize the concept of viewing IS documentation requirements as hypotheses to be tested, refined, or refuted. (appears in Proc. 1995 ACM Conf. Organizational Computing Systems, San Jose, CA, 268-279, August 1995).
• Simulation and Modeling for Software Acquisition (SAMSA). In this extended final report, we describe the results from a series of workshops and contributions from a Blue Ribbon Panel of government, industry, and academic experts addressing alternative approaches to the acquisition of large software systems. The results focus attention on redesigning the process of software acquisition around the use of (a) a knowledge-based Feasibility Analysis Modeling system to assist assessing the costs, risks, and technical feasibility of a new software system to be acquired; (b) research on software architectures to help better characterize whether proposed system requirements can be satisfied by a given system architecture; and (c) the overall integration of simulation and modeling technologies to support a new approach to the "virtual information systems acquisition" (VISTA). Other reports from the workshops can be accessed through links within this report. (Final Report, March 1996).
• Concurrent Engineering Tools: Are the Human Issues Being Ignored? (in PDF). Concurrent Engineering (CE) tools are intended to increase the concurrency of multi-disciplinary design by integrating various enabling technologies such as computer-aided design, computer-aided manufacturing, group decision support systems, expert systems, and communication networks. If the long term viability of CE depends on effectively developing and deploying CE tools, the assumptions about how CE design tasks are most successfully performed and the roles of tools in facilitating that work should be carefully reviewed. This paper identifies the human factors assumptions made by the CE tool development community and compares them to conclusions drawn from existing literature on the role of technologies in performing technical work. This comparison suggests that the assumptions made by the CE tool development community are likely to inhibit CE tools from successfully enabling the CE process. Recommendations for remedying this state of affairs are offered in the form of restated assumptions that are consistent with documented behaviors of people using similar technologies and potential development strategies for CE tool developers. (appears in IEEE Trans. Engineering Management, 43(2):189-201, May 1996).
• Process Life Cycle Engineering: A Knowledge-Based Approach and Environment. We describe our approach and mechanisms to support the engineering of organizational processes throughout their life cycle. We describe our current understanding of what activities are included in the process life cycle. We then go on to describe our approach, computational mechanisms, and experiences in supporting many of these life cycle activities, as well as compare it to other related efforts. Along the way, we present examples drawn from a recent study that uses the approach and the mechanisms of our knowledge-based process engineering environment to support the (re)engineering of corporate financial operations in a mid-size consumer products organization. (NB: Contains 12 image files).(appears in Intelligent Systems in Accounting, Finance, and Management,  6(1):83-107, 1997). In addition, an interactive presentation on this subject can be found here.
• Supporting Distributed Configuration Management in Virtual Enterprises. This paper presents a semantic hypertext-based framework called DHT that supports distributed software configuration management, provides transparent access to heterogeneous, autonomous software repositories, and enables an implementation strategy with low cost and effort. We show how DHT solves the practical problems of sharing and updating heterogenous multi-version software in a virtual enterprise of distributed teams, integrating existing CM tools and environments, executing CM processes to coordinate development activities across wide-area networks. This is when the process model is represented as a user navigable hypertext graph whose nodes associate process steps, user roles, and associated tools with designated software product versions and configurations. Furthermore, we show that this can require the support for alternative policy models for the commitment of software updates into local CM repositories. Overall, these capabilities provide support for product-centered enactment of CM policies and processes across a virtual enterprise of teams connected via the Internet. (appears in R. Conradi (ed.), Software Configuration Management, Lecture Notes in Computer Science, Vol. 1235, Springer-Verlag, New York, 142-160, 1997) .
• Reengineering the IS Research Process for the 21st Century: From Cottage Craft to Community Cybrariums. Advances in IT capabilities and changes in the global business environment have led many enterprises to radically change the way they carry out their business. On the verge of the 21st century it is also time for IS academics to fundamentally rethink the IS research process with the goal of substantially augmenting its effectiveness. This paper first examines why the current IS research process needs to be radically changed. It then systematically analyses needed change along six dimensions. The change potentials are used to propose a new IS research paradigm that is based on interactive knowledge repositories and collaborative electronic networks. Key elements of the new paradigm are explored through a prototype of an IT based-toolkit for improving the research process. Through our learning from the prototype we propose a new type of IT-enabled electronic space for the research community which we term a "Cybrarium". A cybrarium is focused not just on the storage and dissemination but on the synthesis of knowledge generated in the research community. Subsequently, the basic distinctions between electronic web journals and cybrariums are articulated and it is shown how a cybrarium leads to a fundamentally changed research process. We contend that such a redefined research process will enable the IS research community to make the leap from a cottage industry to a large-scale global collaborative alliance that is fast, forward-looking and cumulative.
• (Re)Engineering Research Grants Management: From Acquisition Reform to Knowledge Brokering at ONR. In this paper, we briefly describe our approach and experience in a research effort focused on (re)engineering the activity of research grants management at the Office of Naval Research. We found that we could contribute to a substantial reduction in process cycle time and operational costs associated with the funding of thousands of research grant procurement actions. Accordingly, we focus our discussion on topics that underlie these results. We also observe that knowledge brokering is an area where a new R&D initiative could lead to more effective and efficient research funding and research program management, as well as serve the mutual self-interests of the Federal research funding agency and researcher communities. (presented at NSF Workshop on Research and Development Opportunities for Federal Information Services, Arlington, VA, http://www.isi.edu/nsf, May 1997).
• Process-Driven Intranets: Life Cycle Support for Process Reengineering. In this paper, we describe our approach and experience in a case study focused on redesigning processes for research grant funds management at the Office of Naval Research. We found that we could contribute to a substantial reduction in process cycle time and operational costs associated with the funding of thousands of research grant procurement actions. Accordingly, we focus our discussion on topics that underlie these results. This includes defining our approach process design, the technology of process-driven intranets for electronic commerce, our case study applying this approach and technology at ONR, and a discussion of lessons learned. Along the way, we identify challenges, issues, and possible solutions that foreshadow the development of a new generation of intranet-based networked information systems. (appears in IEEE Internet Computing, 1(5):42-49, 1997).
• Virtual System Acquisition: Approach and Transitions. In this paper, we describe a radically new approach for the acquisition of software-intensive systems. We start be reviewing problems and opportunities for improving the acquisition of these systems. We put forward a statement of objective on the need to make the software system acquisition more agile and adaptive, through the evolutionary modeling, simulation, and development of the system being acquired. We describe a new vision for the re-tooling and re-engineering software system acquisition into a form we call, VISTA, denoting an approach to the virtual acquisition of these systems. We then outline the VISTA approach to software acquisition. This is followed by a discussion of the technical and organizational transitions that must be investigated and managed to ensure the eventual success of such a radical change to software system acquisition. (appears in Acquisition Review Quarterly, 5(2):185-216, Spring 1998)
• Experience with Software Process Simulation and Modeling. This paper describes an approach taken and experiences encountered in developing and applying simulation and modeling technologies to software processes. Processes for both software development and use have been investigated. As such, the focus of this paper is aimed at addressing three aspects of software process simulation and modeling. First, I describe an approach and examples of software simulation and modeling as investigated with the Articulator environment developed at USC. Second, I describe how by focusing on process modeling, analysis, and simulation, we are led to expand the scope of work with software processes toward a more comprehensive software process life cycle engineering. Third, I describe some of the lessons learned from applying modeling and simulation concepts, techniques, and tools to software processes in a variety of organizational settings. Conclusions then stress the complementary value arising from the use of both qualitative and quantitative technologies for software process simulation and modeling. (Journal of Systems and Software, to appear 1999. The original version of this paper presented at ProSim'98, Silver Falls, OR, 22-24 June 1998).
• Computational Business Process Components for Electronic Commerce. In this position paper, I focus on addressing computational business processes as software components for  Electronic Commerce. These components can be configured into an organizational process architecture that serves as a reusable framework for developing an EC information infrastructure. Process-driven Intranets then serve as a distributed development and run-time support environment for the framework. Since PDIs can span organizational boundaries, and since PDIs in different organizations may be interconnected, then process-driven extranets can be created and deployed. PDIs and PDEs enable the design, integration, and enactment of virtual enterprises. When a community of virtual enterprises emerges and begins to support business transactions among these enterprises, then virtual markets can appear, as can different kinds of computational economies. With the exception of this last item, I have experience in developing and applying these capabilities in different organizational settings. My experience leads me to believe that CBPs are viable components for EC. Furthermore, such components address an orthogonal set of issues compared to those addressed by other potential EC technologies such as CORBA/DCOM, EDI X12 transaction standards, Java/ActiveX, UML, and others. Subsequently, the potential value of CBPs can be assessed independent of choices made in using or evolving other EC technologies. Thus, CBPs merit consideration as a foundational software technology for EC. (Presented at the 1998 Intern. Workshop on Component-Based Electronic Commerce, Berkeley, CA, July 1998).
• Supporting Software Development in Virtual Enterprises. This paper presents recent developments in a distributed semantic hypertext framework called DHT that supports software development projects within virtual enterprises. We show how hypertext functionality embodied in DHT solves the practical problems of project coordination including, collaborative sharing data in a virtual enterprise of distributed teams, integrating existing tools and environments, and enacting software processes to coordinate development activities for teams across wide-area networks. In particular, we describe how software process enactment can be achieved within a virtual enterprise without centralized mechanisms. This is when the process description is represented as a user navigable hypertext graph whose nodes associate process steps, staff roles, and associated tools with designated software products. Overall, these capabilities provide support for coordinating software development projects across a virtual enterprise of teams connected via the Internet. (appears in Journal of Digital Information, 1(4), February 1999).
• Comparative Case Analysis for Understanding Software Processes. This paper provides an exploration of the analysis and use of comparative case studies as an approach to understanding software processes in complex organizational settings. Case studies are well suited to capture and describe how software processes occur in real-world settings, what kinds of problems emerge, how they are addressed, and how software engineering tools, techniques, or concepts are employed. The overall purpose of comparative case analysis is to discover and highlight second- or higher-order phenomena or patterns that transcend the analysis of an individual case. Comparative case analysis provides a strategy that enables the development of more generalizable results and testable theories than individual or disjoint case studies alone can provide. This study incorporates an examination and review of four empirical studies of processes involved in developing, using, or evolving software systems that employ comparative case analyses. Finally, a meta analysis of these four studies then highlights the strengths and weaknesses of comparative case analyses when used to empirically examine and understand software processes. (Draft for review, submitted for publication, 1998).
• Redesigning Contracted Service Procurement for Internet-based Electronic Commerce: A Case Study. This paper describes a case study focused on redesigning procurement processes for research grants at the Office of Naval Research. These    processes focus on the procurement of research (R&D) services and how they can be redesigned and supported using    Web-based capabilities. By examining these processes, we gain insight into issues and challenges to be addressed in    redesigning service procurement with Internet-based Electronic Commerce capabilities. In collaboration with other    participants in this effort, we found that we could contribute to a substantial reduction in process cycle time and    operational costs associated with the funding of thousands of research grant procurement actions. Accordingly, this    investigation will focus on topics that underlie these results. This includes defining an approach to redesign    procurement processes for Internet-based EC, a case study applying this approach and technology at ONR, and a    discussion of lessons learned. Along the way, challenges, issues, and possible solutions are identified that foreshadow   the development of a new generation of Internet-based procurement processes and supporting Web-based environments. (Revised version to appear in Journal of Information Technology and Management, 1999).
• Developing a Knowledge Web for Business Process Redesign. We describe our effort at developing and demonstrating a prototype knowledge-based Web environment for modeling, diagnosing and redesigning complex business processes. Our goal was to investigate how a modern knowledge representation system, Loom [MB95], can favorably leverage the development and evolution of a knowledge web that links narrative, informal and formal descriptions of cases on business process redesign found on the Web. In so doing, we demonstrate concepts, techniques and tools that facilitate

the development of a knowledge web management system (KWMS) in an application domain of interest to enterprises
throughout the world. (Draft for review, submitted for publication, 1999).

Contact Information

• PHONE: 949-574-0481 (Dr. Walt Scacchi/ATRIUM lab)
• EMAIL: wscacchi@rcf.usc.edu

This page is maintained by Walt Scacchi who can be reached at the e-mail address noted above. This page was last updated on 16 February 1998. Also, for those who did not notice, the image at the top of this page is a single-image random dot stereogram. Can you figure out what's there?