Research Initiation Award: Incorporating Formal Specification Techniques into Structure and Object-Oriented Analysis and Design Processes

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9410396 France A significant reason for the rare use of formal specification techniques (FSTs) in the software development industry is a lack of understanding of how FSTs can be incorporated into current industrial-strength software development processes. Current industrial software development environments tend to favor the use of informal Structured Specification Methods(SSMs) and Object- Oriented Methods(OOMs) because of their use of relatively simple, intuitive notations and concepts. Lack of understanding of how FSTs can be effectively applied in the context of practical development processes based on SSMs and OOMs often leads to the perception that the use of one precludes the other. This research is concerned with bridging the gap between FSTs and the less formal SSMs and OOMs. The research program has three components: the technical component is concerned with how integration of formal and informal techniques is accomplished, the organizational component is concerned with when, how, and under what circumstances integrated specification techniques can be applied, and the experimental component is concerned with evaluating the techniques, supporting tools and processes through experimental application. ***