Reich Technologies

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Reich Technologies was one of the UML Partners, a consortium that was instrumental to the development of standards for the Unified Modeling Language (UML). The CEO for the company (Georges-Pierre Reich) represented Reich Technologies on the committee, and was involved in the development of the proposal. The proposal was submitted to the Object Management Group (OMG), which approved the proposal, circa late 1997.

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Reich Technologies is an international group of companies, providing a coordinated suite of products and services to support object-oriented (OO) software development in large corporations. With a presence throughout Europe and North America, Reich Technologies occupies leading positions in the world markets for integrated OO CASE tools, fine-grained object repositories and OO team programming environments.

The Intelligent Software Factory (ISF) offers an integrated object-oriented CASE tool suite. It is built on the concept of model-driven development in which the work done at the beginning of a project creates an environment for configuration management and cost containment for software maintenance. ISF has been originally built by Franck Barbier, a French researcher on OO modeling.

The Intelligent Artifact Repository (IAR) provides an enterprise-wide resource for the management and reuse of Information System assets. This concept is so powerful that the development team uses ISF and IAR for production, making ISF the first CASE tool to be self-generated. Recognizing the impact of introducing tools, Reich Technologies offers success oriented services including training, consulting and tool customizations. Corporations combine tools, services and processes with their own organizations to implement a Corporate Software Ecology.

Reich Technologies worked with Alistair Cockburn (special advisor to the Central Bank of Norway) and Ralph Hodgson (founder of TopQuadrant) to flesh out the concept of Use Case and integrate it in the context of Responsibility-Driven Design. Several large companies have built systems upon these constructs since 1992. Structured Use Cases and detailed Responsibility models proved to be a relevant answer to the challenge of gathering and organizing thousands of requirements, defining the scope of the system, and designing an architecture for objects. A methodology with processes and identified deliverables has been created in a joint effort.

As tool builders, Reich Technologies adds the knowledge of implementing lifecycle management for the meta-model objects. Reich Technologies has also extensive experience designing the meta-models that implement in ISF the modeling notations of diverse methodologists.

Reich Technologies sells off-the-shelf and tailored versions of their CASE tools.

Related Research Articles

Unified Modeling Language Software system design modeling tool

The Unified Modeling Language (UML) is a general-purpose, developmental, modeling language in the field of software engineering that is intended to provide a standard way to visualize the design of a system.

The XML Metadata Interchange (XMI) is an Object Management Group (OMG) standard for exchanging metadata information via Extensible Markup Language (XML).

Model Driven Architecture (MDA) is a software design approach for the development of software systems. It provides a set of guidelines for the structuring of specifications, which are expressed as models. Model Driven Architecture is a kind of domain engineering, and supports model-driven engineering of software systems. It was launched by the Object Management Group (OMG) in 2001.

Computer-aided software engineering

Computer-aided software engineering (CASE) is the domain of software tools used to design and implement applications. CASE tools are similar to and were partly inspired by computer-aided design (CAD) tools used for designing hardware products. CASE tools were used for developing high-quality, defect-free, and maintainable software. CASE software is often associated with methods for the development of information systems together with automated tools that can be used in the software development process.

Objecteering

Objecteering is a UML and MDA CASE tool edited by Objecteering Software, a subsidiary of Softeam.

Business process modeling Activity of representing processes of an enterprise

Business process modeling (BPM) in business process management and systems engineering is the activity of representing processes of an enterprise, so that the current business processes may be analyzed, improved, and automated. BPM is typically performed by business analysts, who provide expertise in the modeling discipline; by subject matter experts, who have specialized knowledge of the processes being modeled; or more commonly by a team comprising both. Alternatively, the process model can be derived directly from events' logs using process mining tools.

A functional software architecture (FSA) is an architectural model that identifies enterprise functions, interactions and corresponding IT needs. These functions can be used as a reference by different domain experts to develop IT-systems as part of a co-operative information-driven enterprise. In this way, both software engineers and enterprise architects can create an information-driven, integrated organizational environment.

Meta-process modeling

Meta-process modeling is a type of metamodeling used in software engineering and systems engineering for the analysis and construction of models applicable and useful to some predefined problems.

Metamodeling Concept of software engineering

A metamodel or surrogate model is a model of a model, and metamodeling is the process of generating such metamodels. Thus metamodeling or meta-modeling is the analysis, construction and development of the frames, rules, constraints, models and theories applicable and useful for modeling a predefined class of problems. As its name implies, this concept applies the notions of meta- and modeling in software engineering and systems engineering. Metamodels are of many types and have diverse applications.

Domain-specific modeling (DSM) is a software engineering methodology for designing and developing systems, such as computer software. It involves systematic use of a domain-specific language to represent the various facets of a system.

The Shlaer–Mellor method, also known as Object-Oriented Systems Analysis (OOSA) or Object-Oriented Analysis (OOA) is an object-oriented software development methodology introduced by Sally Shlaer and Stephen Mellor in 1988. The method makes the documented analysis so precise that it is possible to implement the analysis model directly by translation to the target architecture, rather than by elaborating model changes through a series of more platform-specific models. In the new millennium the Shlaer–Mellor method has migrated to the UML notation, becoming Executable UML.

Object-oriented analysis and design (OOAD) is a technical approach for analyzing and designing an application, system, or business by applying object-oriented programming, as well as using visual modeling throughout the software development process to guide stakeholder communication and product quality.

Model-driven engineering (MDE) is a software development methodology that focuses on creating and exploiting domain models, which are conceptual models of all the topics related to a specific problem. Hence, it highlights and aims at abstract representations of the knowledge and activities that govern a particular application domain, rather than the computing concepts.

The Unified Profile for DoDAF/MODAF (UPDM) is the product of an Object Management Group (OMG) initiative to develop a modeling standard that supports both the USA Department of Defense Architecture Framework (DoDAF) and the UK Ministry of Defence Architecture Framework (MODAF). The current UPDM - the Unified Profile for DoDAF and MODAF was based on earlier work with the same acronym and a slightly different name - the UML Profile for DoDAF and MODAF.

The Semantics of Business Vocabulary and Business Rules (SBVR) is an adopted standard of the Object Management Group (OMG) intended to be the basis for formal and detailed natural language declarative description of a complex entity, such as a business. SBVR is intended to formalize complex compliance rules, such as operational rules for an enterprise, security policy, standard compliance, or regulatory compliance rules. Such formal vocabularies and rules can be interpreted and used by computer systems. SBVR is an integral part of the OMG's model-driven architecture (MDA).

Rational Software Architect is a modeling and development environment that uses the Unified Modeling Language (UML) for designing architecture for C++ and Java EE (JEE) applications and web services. Rational Software Architect is built on the Eclipse open-source software framework and includes capabilities focused on architectural code analysis, C++, and model-driven development (MDD) with the UML for creating applications and web services.

Enterprise engineering is the body of knowledge, principles, and practices used to design all or part of an enterprise. An enterprise is a complex socio-technical system that comprises people, information, and technology that interact with each other and their environment in support of a common mission. One definition is: "an enterprise life-cycle oriented discipline for the identification, design, and implementation of enterprises and their continuous evolution", supported by enterprise modelling. The discipline examines each aspect of the enterprise, including business processes, information flows, material flows, and organizational structure. Enterprise engineering may focus on the design of the enterprise as a whole, or on the design and integration of certain business components.

A metaCASE tool is a type of application software that provides the possibility to create one or more modeling methods, languages or notations for use within the process of software development. Often the result is a modeling tool for that language. MetaCASE tools are thus a kind of language workbench, generally considered as being focused on graphical modeling languages.

Applications of UML

UML is a modeling language used by software developers. UML can be used to develop diagrams and provide users (programmers) with ready-to-use, expressive modeling examples. Some UML tools generate program language code from UML. UML can be used for modeling a system independent of a platform language. UML is a graphical language for visualizing, specifying, constructing, and documenting information about software-intensive systems. UML gives a standard way to write a system model, covering conceptual ideas. With an understanding of modeling, the use and application of UML can make the software development process more efficient.

Enterprise Architect (software) Visual modeling and design tool

Sparx Systems Enterprise Architect is a visual modeling and design tool based on the OMG UML. The platform supports: the design and construction of software systems; modeling business processes; and modeling industry based domains. It is used by businesses and organizations to not only model the architecture of their systems, but to process the implementation of these models across the full application development life-cycle.

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