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 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.