[pt] Como um novo e poderoso paradigma para modelagem e implementação de sistemas de software, os sistemas multiagentes necessitam de metodologias, linguagens de modelagem, plataformas de desenvolvimento e linguagens de programação que explorem seus benefícios e características particulares. Contudo, diferentes metodologias, linguagens e plataformas para sistemas multiagentes propõem abstrações variadas e com definições muito diferentes. Nesse contexto, é necessário criar frameworks conceituais que definam as abstrações, seus relacionamentos e seus comportamentos. Como em qualquer novo paradigma para engenharia de software, o sucesso e a difusão de sistemas multiagentes requerem, entre outras tecnologias de software baseadas em agentes, linguagens de modelagem que explorem o uso de abstrações relacionadas a agentes e promovam o refinamento dos modelos de design para código. Esta tese contempla a definição de um framework conceitual para sistemas multiagentes chamado TAO e uma linguagem de modelagem para sistemas multiagentes chamada MAS-ML. Os objetivos desta tese são descrever os aspectos estáticos e dinâmicos das abstrações freqüentemente utilizadas em sistemas multiagentes definindo um framework conceitual, propor uma linguagem de modelagem que descreva diagramas estáticos e dinâmicos para modelar esses aspectos e descrever o refinamento dos modelos estáticos para código. / [en] As a powerful and new paradigm for designing and implementing software systems, multi-agent systems require methodologies, modeling languages, development platforms and programming languages that explore their benefits and their peculiar characteristics. However, different methodologies, languages and platforms for multi-agent systems propose very distinct and varied sets of abstraction. In this context, there is a need for creating a conceptual framework that defines the frequently used multi-agent system abstractions, their relationships and their behavior. As it is the case with any new software engineering paradigm, the successful and widespread deployment of multi-agent systems require modeling languages, among other agent-based software technologies, that explore the use of agentrelated abstractions and promote the traceability from the design models to code. This thesis contemplates the definition of a multi-agent system conceptual framework called TAO and of a multi-agent system modeling language called MAS-ML. Our goals are to describe the structural and dynamic aspects of the abstractions commonly used in multi-agent systems by defining a conceptual framework, to propose a modeling language that describes structural and dynamic diagrams to model such aspects and to present the traceability from the structural models into code.

Orientador: Eliane Martins / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Computação / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-24T16:35:59Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Letizio_CarolineCastello_M.pdf: 1670478 bytes, checksum: c2f330cd004addd705aef75384effcd2 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013 / Resumo: Teste baseado em modelo é uma técnica na qual um sistema é modelado e geram-se testes a partir do modelo. Esta técnica apresenta como uma das maiores dificuldades a modelagem do sistema. Alguns dos empecilhos encontrados ao modelar são o que considerar do sistema e como representar essas considerações no modelo, incluindo em aplicações Web. Sendo assim, este trabalho propõe um método para auxiliar na modelagem de aplicações Web. Esta escolha é motivada pelo fato que esse tipo de sistema tem sido cada vez mais utilizado nos últimos anos e, com a sua evolução, sua complexidade tem aumentado consideravelmente, devido à dinamicidade e interatividade que esse tipo de aplicação oferece. A abordagem proposta é baseada em trabalhos correlatos, para se saber o que modelar da aplicação Web e como criar o modelo, descrevendo-se o passo-a-passo para se gerar os testes a partir dos modelos desenvolvidos e aplicá-los no sistema. A abordagem deste trabalho sugere tanto formas manuais como automáticas para os testes baseados em modelos. O método foi proposto para testar uma aplicação real: o ambiente de ensino à distância TelEduc. Os resultados, obtidos a partir da aplicação da proposta deste trabalho por um analista de teste e pela própria equipe do TelEduc, são analisados, a fim de validar a proposta e auxiliar no processo de desenvolvimento e aplicação dos testes de equipes de qualidade de software, principalmente, daquelas que não possuem nenhuma forma de organização de testes / Abstract: Model based testing is a technique in which the system is modeled and, from this model, tests can be generated. The major difficulty about this technique is to generate the model, since it is problematic to define what should be considered from the system and insert these characteristics into the model. This technique is also used in Web applications which presents the same challenges. Therefore, the present work proposes a method to assist in the modeling of Web applications. This sort of system has been increasingly used in recent years, where the system¿s complexity has considerably grown due to the dynamic and interactivity that this kind of application offers. The proposed method is based on related works in order to know what to model from the applications and how to create this model. The method contains the steps to generate tests cases from the created model, and how to execute them in the system. This work also suggests manual and automatic ways to execute the method. The proposal has been applied to test a real application: the e-learning Web environment TelEduc. The results obtained from the method¿s application by a test analyst and by the TelEduc team, are here analyzed to validate the method and to assist in the process development and tests execution by quality teams, especially those teams where there are no means of tests organization. / Mestrado / Ciência da Computação / Mestra em Ciência da Computação

Les techniques dynamiques de vérification et validation (V&V) de modèles sont nécessaires pour assurer la qualité des modèles exécutables. La plupart de ces techniques reposent sur la concept de trace d'exécution, une séquence contenant un ensemble d'informations sur une exécution. Par conséquent, pour permettre la V&V dynamique de modèles exécutables conformes à n'importe quel langage de modélisation dédié exécutable (LMDx), il est crucial de fournir des outils pour construire et manipuler toutes sortes de traces d'exécution. À cet effet, nous proposons d'abord une approche de clonage efficace de modèles afin de pouvoir construire des traces d'exécution génériques à base de clones. À l'aide d'un générateur aléatoire de métamodèles, nous montrons que cette approche passe à l'échelle avec seulement un léger surcoût lors de la manipulation de clones. Nous présentons ensuite une approche générative pour définir des métamodèles dédiés et multidimensionnels pour représenter des traces d'exécution, qui consiste à créer la structure de données spécifique aux traces d'exécution d'un LMDx donné. Ainsi, les traces d'exécution de modèles conformes à ce LMDx peuvent être capturées et manipulées efficacement de manière dédiée et à l'aide de différentes dimensions. Nous appliquons cette approche à deux techniques de V&V dynamiques existantes, à savoir la différentiation sémantique et le débogage omniscient. Nous montrons qu'un tel métamodèle de traces d'exécution généré fournit une bonne facilité d'usage et un bon passage à l'échelle pour la V&V dynamique au plus tôt pour n'importe quel LMDx. Nous avons intégré notre travail au sein du GEMOC Studio, un environnement de définition de langages et de modélisation issu de l'initiative internationale du même nom. / Dynamic verification and validation (V&V) techniques are required to ensure the correctness of executable models. Most of these techniques rely on the concept of execution trace, which is a sequence containing information about an execution. Therefore, to enable dynamic V&V of executable models conforming to any executable domain-specific modeling language (xDSML), it is crucial to provide efficient facilities to construct and manipulate all kinds of execution traces. To that effect, we first propose a scalable model cloning approach to conveniently construct generic execution traces using model clones. Using a random metamodel generator, we show that this approach is scalable in memory with little manipulation overhead. We then present a generative approach to define multidimensional and domain-specific execution trace metamodels, which consists in creating the execution trace data structure specific to an xDSML. Thereby, execution traces of models conforming to this xDSML can be efficiently captured and manipulated in a domain-specific way. We apply this approach to two existing dynamic V&V techniques, namely semantic differencing and omniscient debugging. We show that such a generated execution trace metamodel provides good usability and scalability for dynamic early V&V support for any xDSML. Our work have been implemented and integrated within the GEMOC Studio, which is a language and modeling workbench resulting from the eponym international initiative.

>Magister Scientiae - MSc / The purpose of this thesis is to discuss the development of a web application from scratch. It serves to build a health management information system from basic principles and covers all the software engineering activities starting from the gathering of requirements, evaluating these and eventually implementing a health management information system by applying several iterations of the Agile-extreme-programming-software-engineering approach to develop a Health Management System for the Kabul University Poly-clinic located at Kabul University campus in order to computerize clerical activities at the hospital. Questionnaires were used to uncover the clerical problems experienced by the hospital sta . Attempts to address these problems by designing and im- plementing software and re ne the software after some iterations of feedback- redesign-and-implementation following the guidelines of Agile extreme pro- gramming. The previous Health management systems at the hospital were paper based. The new computerized system has eased the burdens of tracking the les of patients at the hospital, leading to easier and more e cient access to information by the health-care professionals at the hospital. An assessment of the impact this has had on the medical and clerical sta and the smoother administration of the hospital by repeated user acceptance testing by means of questionnaires con rms the success of the project.

The main goal of this work is to create some kind of simple methodology that can help to improve effectiveness of public organizations. There're a lot of theories and methodologies focused on this topic and there is a good chance many new ones will be presented in the future. These came mainly from management field and sometimes from other fields as well. This work focuses mainly on Business Process Reengineering and combines it with other methodologies hoping, it will help in a process improvements in the public sector. Focus is on Czech Republic but this work should be useful to other countries as well, if necessary changes are made in order to shape things that are different between the countries. In this work, a whole project cycle of the public organization processes improvement project can be found, but some project phases will be explained in more detail then the other. Focus is on the analytic parts of the project (strategy creation, use of UML, BSC and other models and methodologies like that) rather than the project management parts of the project. All the practical examples are from public sector organization -- namely the administrative office of one of the city districts of Prague. After reading this work, reader should have moderate understanding of the application of a BPR methodology in the public sector and how it can be supported by other methodologies. There is also big portion of models and diagrams in this work showing pieces of reality from chosen public organization. Their meaning is to show what is usually done in this kind of project and how to understand the models. This works goal isn't creation of a guideline to UML or any other modeling principles.

<p>Software modeling is an integral practice for software engineers especially as the complexity of software solutions increase. There is precedent in industry to model information systems in terms of functions, structures, and behaviors. While constructing these models, abstraction and systems thinking are employed to determine elements essential to the solution and how they are connected. However, both abstraction and systems thinking are difficult to put in practice and difficult to teach due to the, often, ill-structured nature of real-world IT problems. Unified Modeling Language (UML) is the industry standard for software modeling but unfortunately it is often used incorrectly and misunderstood by novices. This has also been observed in educational contexts where students encounter difficulty in employing the appropriate level of abstraction in modeling and programming contexts and not necessarily being able to view or treat software systems as being interconnected. </p> <p>The researcher detailed a multi-methods approach, through the lens of pragmatism, towards understanding patterns of student proficiency with abstraction and software modeling in terms capturing the functional, structural, and behavioral aspects of an information system, as given by the Structures-Behaviors-Function framework. The quantitative strand involved the development of rubrics to analyze functional, structural, and behavioral models given by UML activity diagrams, class diagrams, and sequence diagrams, respectively. The subjects of this study were students enrolled in a sophomore-level systems analysis and design class. Descriptive analysis revealed patterns of modeling proficiency. Students were generally proficient in modeling the system in terms of functions but there was an overall drop-off in proficiency when modeling the system in terms of structures and behaviors. The results of the clustering analysis revealed underlying profiles of students based on abstract thinking and systems thinking ability. Two distinct clusters – high performing students and moderate performing students – were revealed with statistically significant differences between the groups in terms of abstract thinking and systems thinking ability. Further correlational analysis was performed on each cluster. The results of the correlational analyses pointed to significant positive associations between software modeling proficiency and the constructs of abstract thinking and systems thinking. Logistic regression analysis was then performed, and it could be inferred from the regression model that abstract thinking in terms of behaviors and systems thinking in terms of aligning sequence diagrams with activity diagrams were the most important predictors of high performance. </p> The qualitative strand of this study involved a case study approach using the think-aloud protocol centered around exploring how students utilized abstract thinking and systems thinking while constructing software models. The participants of this study were students who had completed the sophomore-level systems analysis and design course. Thematic analysis was utilized to identify themes of abstract thinking and systems thinking within the epistemic games of structural, functional, and process analyses. Two different approaches towards modeling information systems were identified and chronological visualizations for each approach were presented. Overall, it could be inferred from the results and findings of the study that the learning design of the sophomore-level course was successful in equipping students with the skills to proficiently model information systems in terms of functions. However, the students were not as proficient in modeling information systems in terms of structures and behaviors. The theoretical contribution of this study was centered around the application of the SBF framework and epistemic forms and games in the context of information systems. The methodological contributions pertain to the rubrics that were developed which can be used to evaluate software modeling proficiency as well as abstract thinking and systems thinking. Abstract thinking and systems thinking were successfully characterized in the context of information systems modeling. The results of this study have implications in computing education. The suggested instructional approaches and scaffolds can be utilized to improve outcomes in terms of structural and behavioral modeling proficiency.

Executable and Translatable UML (xtUML) is a high level software development method where models are developed using UML diagrams and action language code. Model compilers can translate a model into another programming language which is then executable. When developing xtUML models one of the main benefits is that the documentation of the program is created at the same time as the program in the shape of UML diagrams. It is therefore also important that it is possible to create good UML diagrams that gives the reader a good and clear understanding of how the program works without having to look at the code. One problem is the use of arrays and structured data types in the models because they can make a model more difficult to understand and therefore it would be good to be able to refrain from using them and instead model arrays and structured data types as classes with relations between them. This becomes an issue when an array should be sent to another domain in the system because a lot of action language code must be written which is inconvenient. A solution to this problem would be to send class object instances directly to other domains. In this thesis a solution to the problem has been proposed along with alternate options of solving it. The proposed solution has also been implemented in an existing model compiler and the results show that the performance in compilation time is slower compared to when using the built-in arrays and structured data types, but faster or the same compared to letting the user write its own code for sending object instances. The execution time for a small model using the new solution has increased by a lot compared to using arrays and structured data types, and the size of the executable file has almost doubled but if bigger models are created this difference may become negligible.

Right-of-way business processes have been identified as one of the areas where information bottlenecks occur in transportation agencies, not only because of the amount of information involved, but also because of the interdependent nature of these activities. Transportation projects are associated with parcels whose status change during and after the project based on information from right-of-way activities. Geospatially enabled decision making tools enhance data interpretation as well as data retrieval of this information. By using enterprise-level applications, information sharing between the transportation agency, other jurisdictions, and the public becomes more efficient. Being able to quickly visualize the status of parcels in a geospatial environment further enhances the management of resources which, in turn, improves timely project delivery. This thesis presents a conceptual framework for an information management system and its geospatial enablement through a logical model for Geospatial Decision Making Activities (GDMA) in transportation right-of-way offices. The logical model for GDMA, presented in Unified Modeling Language, includes state machine diagram and data flow diagram models for tracking the parcel and capturing the geospatial enablement of right-of-way activities. / Master of Science

Effective management and operation of modern networks heavily rely on efficient network configuration management and infrastructure. Manual configuration management has been proven inefficient, and there is a need to automatize it. Such automatization can be done using YANG, which provides a standardized data modeling language that works across various network devices, offering a vital tool for network management. However, ensuring the performance and dependability of YANG modules requires effective testing. Manually creating configuration files for YANG modules is time-consuming, prompting the need for automated solutions. In this thesis, a prototype was developed to address this challenge by utilizing directed graphs and topological sorting techniques to generate configuration files for YANG modules. The development and evaluation of the prototype demonstrate its efficient time utilization, while acknowledging its limitations in handling complex YANG modules. The findings suggest that incorporating directed graphs and topological sorting in future YANG module testing tools holds promise as an effective approach. / Effektiv hantering och drift av moderna nätverk är starkt beroende av effektiv nätverkskonfigurationshantering och infrastruktur. Manuell konfigurations hantering har visat sig vara ineffektiv, och det finns ett behov av att automatisera den. Sådan automatisering kan göras med hjälp av YANG, som tillhandahåller ett standardiserat datamodelleringsspråk som fungerar på olika nätverksenheter och erbjuder ett viktigt verktyg för nätverkshantering. Dock krävs effektiv testning för att säkerställa prestanda och tillförlitlighet hos YANG-moduler. Manuell skapande av konfigurationsfiler för YANG-moduler är tidskrävande, vilket motiverar behovet av automatiserade lösningar. I denna avhandling utvecklades en prototyp för att möta denna utmaning genom att använda riktade grafer och topologisk sortering för att generera konfigurationsfiler för YANG-moduler. Utvecklingen och utvärderingen av prototypen visar på dess effektiva tidsanvändning samtidigt som dess begränsningar vid hantering av komplexa YANG-moduler erkänns. Resultaten antyder att inkludering av riktade grafer och topologisk sortering i framtida verktyg för testning av YANG-moduler kan vara en effektiv metod.

L'évolution rapide des besoins dus entre autres à l'innovation technique, la concurrence ou la réglementation conduit souvent à décrire le cadre d'étude des systèmes d'information dans des modèles conceptuels, pour faciliter l'évolution du fonctionnement des systèmes. La mise au point de ces modèles s'effectue en plusieurs phase au cours desquelles collaborent plusieurs équipes de nature différente, chaque intervenant apportant sa perception du système à construire en se limitant à la partie de son domaine de spécialisation. Il faut alors concilier les différentes perceptions. L'objectif essentiel de la thèse est de concevoir les mécanismes permettant d'une part d'obtenir le modèle factorisant les concepts communs à plusieurs modèles et, d'autre part, de proposer aux concepteurs une méthodologie de suivi de l'évolution de la factorisation. Pour réaliser la factorisation, nous avons mis en œuvre l'Analyse Formelle de Concepts et l'Analyse Relationnelle de Concepts (ARC) qui sont des méthodes d'analyse de données basées sur la théorie des treillis. Dans un ensemble d'entités décrites par des caractéristiques, les deux méthodes extraient des concepts formels qui associent un ensemble maximal d'entités à un ensemble maximal de caractéristiques partagées. Ces concepts formels sont structurés dans un ordre partiel de spécialisation qui les munit d'une structure de treillis. L'ARC permet de compléter la description des entités par des relations entre entités. La première contribution de la thèse est une méthode d'analyse de l'évolution de la factorisation d'un modèle basée sur l'AFC et l'ARC. Cette méthode s'appuie la capacité de l'AFC et de l'ARC à faire émerger au sein d'un modèle des abstractions thématiques de niveau supérieur, améliorant ainsi la sémantique des modèles. Nous montrons que ces méthodes peuvent aussi être employées pour suivre l'évolution du processus d'analyse avec des acteurs. Nous introduisons des métriques sur les éléments de modélisation et sur les treillis de concepts qui servent de base à l'élaboration de recommandations. Nous effectuons une expérimentation dans laquelle nous étudions l'évolution des 15 versions du modèle de classes du système d'information SIE-Pesticides. La seconde contribution de la thèse est une étude approfondie du comportement de l'ARC sur des modèles UML. Nous montrons l'influence de la structure des modèles sur différentes variables étudiées (comme les temps d'exécution et la mémoire occupée) au travers de plusieurs expérimentations sur les 15 versions du modèle SIE-Pesticides. Pour cela, nous étudions plusieurs configurations (choix d'éléments et de relations dans le méta-modèle) et plusieurs paramètres (choix d'utiliser les éléments non nommés, choix d'utiliser la navigabilité). Des métriques sont introduites pour guider le concepteur dans le pilotage du processus de factorisation et des recommandations sur les configurations et paramétrages à privilégier sont faites. La dernière contribution est une approche de factorisation inter-modèles afin de regrouper au sein d'un modèle l'ensemble des concepts communs à différents modèles sources conçus par différents experts. Outre le regroupement des concepts communs, cette analyse produit de nouvelles abstractions généralisant des concepts thématiques existants. Nous appliquons notre approche sur les 15 versions du modèle du SIE-Pesticides. L'ensemble de ces travaux s'inscrit dans un cadre de recherche dont l'objectif est de factoriser des concepts thématiques au sein d'un même modèle et de contrôler par des métriques la profusion de concepts produits par l'AFC et surtout par l'ARC. / The rapidly changing needs among other things due to technical innovation, competition and regulation often leads to describe the context for the study of conceptual models in information systems to facilitate the evolution of operating systems. The development of these models is carried out in several phases during which several working teams of different nature, providing each participant's perception of the system to be built is limited to the part of his area of specialization. It must then reconcile the different perceptions.The main objective of the thesis is to design mechanisms to obtain a share of the model factoring concepts common to several models and, secondly, to provide designers with a methodology for monitoring the evolution of factorization.To perform the factorization, we have implemented the Formal Concept Analysis and Relational Concepts Analysis (RCA), which are methods of analysis based on the theory of lattice data. In a set of entities described by features, both methods extract formal concepts that combine a maximum of entities to a maximum set of shared characteristics together. These formal concepts are structured in a partial order of specialization that provides with a lattice structure.The CRA can complement the description of the entities by relationships between entities.The first contribution of the thesis is a textbf {method a model for analyzing the evolution of the factorization based on the FCA and the RCA}. This method builds the capacity of the AFC and the CRA to emerge in a model of thematic abstractions higher level, improving semantic models. We show that these methods can also be used to monitor the analytical process with stakeholders. We introduce metrics on the design elements and the concept lattices which are the basis for the development of recommendations. We conduct an experiment in which we study the evolution of the 15 versions of the model class of information-Pesticides EIS system.The second contribution of this thesis is a textbf {depth study of the behavior of the RCA on UML models.} We show the influence of model structure on different variables studied (such as execution time and memory used) through several experiments on 15 versions of the EIS-Pesticides model. For this, we study several configurations (choice of elements and relations in the meta-model) and several parameters (choice of using unnamed elements, choice of using airworthiness). Metrics are introduced to guide the designer in managing the process of factoring and recommendations on the preferred configurations and settings are made.The last contribution is a textbf {approach to inter-model factorization} to group in a model all the concepts common to different source models designed by different experts. In addition to the consolidation of common concepts, this analysis produces new abstractions generalizing existing thematic concepts. We apply our approach on 15 versions of the model EIS-Pesticides.All this work is part of a research framework which aims to factor thematic concepts within a model and control metrics by the profusion of concepts produced by the FCA and especially by RCA.