Call for Papers

[baldo@ida.org (Jim Baldo)]

Call for Position Papers
 
"Software Reuse in Practice" Workshop
Software Engineering Institute
Pittsburgh, PA USA
July 11-13, 1989

Sponsored by:  Institute for Defense Analyses,
               Software Engineering Institute,
               ACM SIGAda*
 
Software reuse is a new technology that promises major savings in 
software engineering costs.  However, most of the work in the 
field is still within the research community.  Program managers 
and software developers are justifiably skeptical about adopting 
these new ideas on "real" projects.  In this workshop, we hope to 
focus on "real" experience with software reuse -- on lessons 
learned by those actually applying reuse technology.  A major 
objective is to provide guidance to government and industry 
managers and developers to allow them to make informed decisions 
in planning new projects.

In this workshop, we hope to bring together reuse practitioners 
to share concerns, perceptions, and lessons learned, and to focus 
on areas of greatest need for future research. A major output 
will be workshop report document discussions and conclusions. 
Participants will be selected based on position papers, as 
described below.  
 
The workshop will be organized into five working groups.  The 
questions below indicate the kinds of issues we hope to discuss, 
although the specifics will be determined by your interests and 
expertise. 
 
o Terminology and Definitions - What do we all mean when we use 
terms like "taxonomy", "repository", "domain analysis"?  How can 
we establish a common set of terminology to allow us to 
communicate concisely and accurately?  How can we best put it in 
practice?

o Repositories - What experience do you have actually building 
and using repository or library systems?  What kinds of 
classification mechanisms are most effective?  What user 
interfaces work best?  Should repositories be domain-specific?  
What kind of human support is needed to run a reuse library?  How 
can a library improve its service over time?

o Management Issues - How can the DoD create an incentive for 
industry to practice reuse?  Are changes in procurement policies 
necessary?  How can management motivate software engineers to 
develop reusable software, and to reuse existing software?  What 
is the cost impact of developing reusable software?  When does 
the payoff occur, and how can it be estimated/measured?  What 
kinds of rights/liability issues can arise?
 
o Domain Analysis - What does "domain analysis" mean to you?  
What experience do you have with real application domains?  Do 
you have actual domain models that you can share?  What 
techniques/approaches are most effective?  What is the 
relationship between domain models and repository structure (if 
any)? 

o Implementation Issues - What is the relationship between 
reusability and performance?  What techniques have you used to 
help analyze or control performance impact?  What kinds of tools 
would help?  How does reuse impact security?  Is there a 
relationship to potential virus proliferation?  Are special 
considerations necessary for real-time, fault-tolerant, or 
distributed applications? 

Attendance Information 

Attendance is limited to 50 active workers in the reuse field.  
Prospective attendees should send 5 copies of a 3-5 page position 
paper, focusing on experience relating to the above issues, to 
James Baldo Jr. by April 15, 1989.  Invitations will be mailed to 
selected workshop participants by May 15, 1989.  The selected 
position papers will be included in the workshop report. Please 
contact one of the program co-chairs if you have any questions.  
 
Program Co-Chair 
James Baldo Jr. 
Institute for Defense Analyses 
1801 N. Beauregard 
Street Alexandria, VA 22311-1772 
(703) 824-5516 
baldo@ida.org 

Program Co-Chair 
Chris Braun
SIGAda Development Methods Chair
CONTEL Technology Center
12015 Lee Jackson Highway 
Fairfax, VA 22033-3346
(703) 359-7623 
braun@ctc.contel.com 

* ACM approval pending