This paper is a condensation of
second part of a monograph called “Tangled Hierarchies” which has been cut down
a briefer version for publication. The first part of the paper concerned the
way in which tangled hierarchies might be used to model the design of systems,
and perhaps give us a way to show the consistency of domain specific design
languages like the Integral Software Engineering Methodology (ISEM) first
described in Wild Software Meta-systems[1].
In a subsequent paper “Reworking the Integral System Engineering Method Domain
Specific Languages” at CSER11 the original language was expanded from 750 to
1700 some statement templates based on research into General Schemas Theory in
the dissertation of the author Emergent Design[2].
This further part of the monograph looks again at the core of the realtime
minimal methods which is the State Machine along with its dual the Petrinet and
attempts to look at them in a new way based on the ideas of C.S. Peirce which
are used to re-understand the notion of the Turing Machine. In order to
understand Software in its essence we must return to well-worn concepts again
and again and attempt to comprehend them more deeply. There are perhaps more
secrets for them to give up and sometimes what seems so familiar and
commonplace have aspects that are not recognized due to the assumptions we make
about them that are unwarranted. C.S. Peirce was the greatest American
Philosopher, but is hardly known in many circles where is ideas on Pragmaticism
have not been fully appreciated. It could be that his work could give us a new
perspective on the Turing Machine and within it the state machine if we applied
the principles that he developed in his philosophy and semiotics to the Turing
Machine to comprehend it in a new way.
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
The Essential Nature of Product Traceability and its relation to Agile Approaches
Working Paper written for INCOSE2013
Discussion
of the essential features of product traceability maps in relation to requirements,
architecture, functional models, components and tests as a set of order type
hierarchies and their crosslinks. The paper lays out the structure of these
ideal traceability relations which define the essence of the product under
development. Then the intrinsic connection of these trace relations to the
representations of the product design is discussed. The importance of the trace
relations to the product are made clear and then abandonment of traceability in
Agile approaches is discussed, and a way to transform between narrative (story)
representations that appear in the product backlog and the canonical form of
the trace structure of the product is discussed. The fact that it is possible
to transform back and forth between narrative and canonic representations of
trace structures, and the fact that trace structures can be produced in a just
in time fashion that evolves during product development shows that it these
trace structures can be used in both an agile and lean fashion within the development
process. Also it is shown how by doing trace structure outside the narrative
representation has the additional benefit of helping to determine the precedent
order of development so rework can be avoided by developing component out of
sequence that their technological infrastructure and architectural expression
of capability demands. Thus canonical trace structures using this model can be
seen as an essential tool for product owners to use to help structure and
prioritize the backlog in the Agile approach to software and systems
development.
What are the Principles that arise in Practice?:
Working Paper on Principled Software Systems Engineering Practices
Bret Victor (http://worrydream.com/)
has made an appeal for Principles in Life and
in Software Engineering. His own principle is that creators should not have
their tools obscuring their work, so that outcomes are transparent even in
Software Programming. He has created some examples of what that means to him which
he expresses eloquently in the video “Bret Victor -
Inventing on Principle”
at http://vimeo.com/36579366.
Watching Bret Victor’s presentation brought home to me something I had always
felt and believed, but had not articulated very well to myself previously,
which is that we need to live by Principles, and guide our lives and our work
in the world by Principles, and also if necessary die by Principles (like
Freedom). And this includes not just our moral life as he says but our creative
life within our chosen vocation. But where I differ with Bret Victor is that
there is not just one guiding Principle but many of them in my life’s work and
I thought I would attempt to lay the groundwork for expressing something about
the nature of principles and their implications in this paper which is inspired
by the work of (Bret) Victor.
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