Model Problems in Architecture Support for Testing: The Votes Are In

Recently in this space I’ve described the SEI’s recent research in architecture support for testing (AST), with which we are striving to understand how architecture can be used to lead to better testing outcomes. I also described a testing practitioner’s workshop we held at the SEI in February, which resulted in a set of 29 model problems in AST. These are problems that, if solved, would make a substantial difference in the testing of software. I invited readers of this blog to add their votes to those of our workshop participants to produce a ranking of the model problems in terms of importance, using the following scale:

• VH (Very High) = 5 (meaning that the respondent places a very high value on this capability)
• H (High) = 4
• M (Medium) = 3
• L (Low) = 2
• VL (Very Low) = 1 (meaning that this is a capability that is not at all valuable to the respondent)

As promised, here are the results.

Architectural style-spotting (Paul Clements)

I enjoy finding places in the world where concepts I work with daily exist in different forms. In Software Product Lines: Practices and Patterns, one of the sidebars is about the product lines of manufactured goods that I see all around–cars, newspapers, suburban houses, light bulbs, and so on. Recently in this blog I wrote about stylized subway maps and argued that these are architectural representations. (This week I was in Venice, Italy, and saw the same kind of map for its ubiquitous water-based mass transit system, the vaporetti.)

Several years ago I read a wonderful article in the Smithsonian Institute’s Air and Space magazine entitled How the 747 Got Its Hump. Besides answering that question, the article also talked about why, for example, almost all cargo aircraft look alike in a few important ways: Engines in the wings, wings mounted high on the fuselage, a short main landing gear snuggled against the body of the aircraft, and a rear-opening cargo door.

Here are a few examples.  All are in service today, although some of the designs date back to the 1950s.

Lockheed C-130

Lockheed C-141

Boeing C-17

Antonov AN-124

Three Days Left to Save $250 on the SATURN 2011 Conference

Time is running out to register and receive $250 in savings on the SATURN 2011 Conference. Early bird registration ends this Friday, April 15 at 11:59 p.m. ET. Conference and tutorial rates will increase after April 15, so make sure to register today and maximize your savings.

Already Registered?
Don’t forget to book your accommodations. The San Francisco Airport Marriott, the official conference hotel of the SATURN 2011 Conference, is offering a special group rate for SATURN attendees.

Visit the travel and venue section of the SATURN Conference website to book your hotel stay.

The SATURN 2011 program is packed with more than 30 top-notch technical sessions, engaging speakers, educational tutorials and courses, and multiple opportunities for networking and knowledge-sharing. Sessions, talks, and tutorials will cover some of the hottest topics in the field including

• Service-oriented architecture
• Cloud computing
• Agile and architecture
• Architecture is not just for architects
• Architecture-centric engineering
• Model-driven architecture
• Soft skills for architects
• Research in architecture practices
• Architectural knowledge management

Preview the full SATURN 2011 program at http://www.sei.cmu.edu/saturn/2011/program.cfm.

A New Approach for Handheld Devices in Tactical Networks

The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) is increasingly interested in having soldiers carry handheld computing devices to support their mission needs in tactical networks. Not surprisingly, however, conventional handheld computing devices (such as iPhone or Android smartphones) for commercial networks differ in significant ways from handheld devices for tactical networks. For example, conventional devices and the software that runs on them do not provide the capabilities and security needed by military devices, nor are they configured to work over DoD tactical networks with severe bandwidth limitations and stringent transmission security requirements.

This post at the new SEI blog describes exploratory research that the SEI is conducting to (1) create software that allows soldiers to access information on a handheld device and (2) program the software to tailor the information for a given mission or situation.