CASE Environment Adaptability: Bridging the Islands of Automation

In current CASE environments a user has to choose between efficient computerized support using a fixed methodical framework which may not fit his situation, or the freedom to do what seems appropriate in the given circumstance, but at the cost of losing efficient technological support. In this paper we examine adaptable metamodel based environments as a means to resolve this dilemma. Metamodel based environments provide means to represent and modify knowledge about development products, processes, and representation schemes to improve the designer-task fit. Metamodel based adaptability is not a new innovation. Yet, earlier metamodel based approaches have tended to create islands of automation that focus on improving adaptability either in ontologies, notations, or process definitions. The paper applies a framework which integrates these aspects and thereby increases environment adaptability that covers a wider spectrum of development situations. The metalevel based integration is demonstrated by describing how two metamodel based tools focusing on different aspects of adaptability can be integrated. The resulting integrated environment encompasses both product (ontology/notation) and process aspects.