Model driven development (MDD) is one of a number of proposals for software development that promises a number of important benefits. As with any "new" approach, it would be expected that there would be proponents of the approach and those who are opposed to it. MDD has been surprisingly contentious, though, perhaps because it challenges the code-centric model of software development (which therefore challenges the natural approach of those who develop software). But it remains the case that stories abound about significant successes resulting from using MDD in industry, and at the same time, detractors claim that MDD is inherently wrong - it is an abstraction too far: the cost of raising the level of abstraction from code to models can only ever result in an increase of costs or effort that can never be recovered. This thesis reports on work that has attempted to uncover the truth in this area in a way that has never been applied on a large-scale to MDD-based software development in industry. By going to industry practitioners, via a widely completed questionnaire and a number of in-depth interviews, it reports on what real software developers are doing in real companies. The results should lay to rest the belief that "MDD doesn't work" - apparently, it does. Companies around the world are using MDD in a variety of settings and are reporting significant benefits from its use. However, there is a subtle balance of potentially positive and potentially negative impacts of MDD use which successful users in industry prove able to manage, so that they are able to take advantages of the benefits rather than being dogged by the negatives.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:658016 |
| Date | January 2011 |
| Creators | Hutchinson, John Edward |
| Publisher | Lancaster University |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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