Team Building / Corporating People

Comment fidéliser vos employés
How to win the loyalty of your team

Corporate team building

Some days ago I read a presentation created by the HR team of an international company. I was amazed reading their vision about hiring (and as a consequence, firing) people.

For example, they said that it is more profitable for the company to have One Outstanding employee instead of two Adequate Employees since the outstanding employee gets more done and costs less than two adequate employees. So they work hard to have only outstanding people. For doing so they pay Top of Market so the employee will not desire work anywhere else. This reasoning is based on the following questions:

• what could this person get elsewhere?
• what would the company pay for replacement?
• what would the company pay to keep that person?

as a consequence, they developed the following strategy

• pay the employee more than anyone else likely would
• pay the employee as much as a replacement would cost
• pay the employee as much as the company would pay to keep him if they had a higher offer from elsewhere

However, this strategy is specific to this particular company. Most of the companies do not pretend to pay this kind of salary and they do not have only outstanding people, but a balanced mixture of outstanding and adequate employees, which at the end form a good and performing team.

Team building ideas

In any case, once you have managed to have a good team, once that you have inspired the team and make all the other teams to feel jealous; it is necessary to keep the peace and make the team members to work together as a single entity.

A good manner of doing so is by giving them a common goal and a "team spirit".

A very graphical example is a Rugby team where all the members have the same goal, the same motivation and everybody knows his own role and trusts in the other members. Moreover, the team is auto-organized and goes at the same peace.

This is a common  practice in Agile Methods.

Team building principles

Many companies have a very strict policy about Customer Satisfaction, how to follow it and how to satisfy it.

Very few of them also have a Reliable Employee Satisfaction policy. However, this is the work produced by the team which can satisfy the customer, isn't it? Thus, having a strong team will lead to a strong customer satisfaction.

The goal is to shape the team so it can answer as a single entity to any customer request. The most the team will be cohesive, the most the responses will be solid.

Moreover, a solid team will inspire the members and will motivate them. The goals and the responsibilities will be shared between them and will make them to be “committed”, and not only “involved”.

Some techniques have been developed to help work-groups evolve into a cohesive unit, this is the case of team building.

Team building skills

The team cannot be “auto-built” since the main goals are given by the management. Thus, Team Building actions shall be launched by the management and driven by the team. Remember that the team members will held the company image and reputation.

One of the reasons of the success of a company depends on its ability to build effective teams and and its capacity to maintain them.

It is very interesting to see that a single highly motivated person can inspire others, he only needs an opportunity to share his passions.

A united team will care about holding one each other and thus holding the company’s goals.

If you are working in something exciting that you really care about, you don't have to be pushed. The vision pulls you.
S. Jobs

I is very simple, it is like a flu, put one inspired and motivated person in contact with others within an appropriate environment and the virus will spread by itself as I explain in "Working in an Inspiring Company".

Motivated and united teams will easily hold the company’s prestige by making the members to feel “Corporate”. In this way, Team Building equals Corporating People.

United teams will be happy to work in your company and will persuade the members to not to leave: why looking elsewhere if the motivating team with challenging work and the inspiring company are there?

Team building is a perfect way to win loyalty of your employees. Moreover, people around will wonder about and will desire to work with you.

Team Building Activities

There is no “one-fit-all” activity”. You cannot propose any kind of activity to your team; it depends on everybody’s preferences (sports, games, etc) and on your specific goals and objectives  (role definition, team reinforcement, problem solving, team creation, learning new strategies, etc).

The building activities may be different from one team to another, it really depends on personal interests, on peoples profiles, on the work itself and on the goals you are targeting, of course. Then, it is no easy to find the Building Activities to propose to the team; but the easier way is simple:

Ask the Team

Build your teams

Corporate your employees

Inspire customers

Motivate people

Further reading:

• SlideShare presentation: http://fr.slideshare.net/reed2001/culture-1798664
• Working on an Inspiring Company (post)

Answering to impossible requirements

Be interested in finding the best way, not in having your own way.

Creative Thinking

One day I was waiting for a meeting and there was a poster in the room. this poster was about “Creativity”, "Creative inspiration", "Creative activities" or "Creative Activities". The poster showed a room where two strings hang from the ceiling and a person was placed in the middle of the room. The two strings were far enough so one person cannot hold one string and then take the other one  without releasing the first one.

The the goal of the exercise was to tie the two strings together.

Many years later I’ve read that this was an experiment created in 1931 by a psychologist from the Michigan University named “Raymond Frederick Maier” (1900 – 1977). In his book “Problem solving and creativity in individuals and groups” [Brooks/Cole Pub. Co., 1970] he describes this scene and gives an analysis of the possible issues.

Problem and Solutions

In the poster that I’ve seen, there were some other elements. For example, some tools are available in the room:

• A chair
• A pair of scissors
• A heavy piece of metal
• A bottle of water

First solutions

In the beginning, the person in the middle of the room could imagine solving the issue by using some "naive" methods:

• Try to stretch his body and make it more “elastic”
• Try some odd postures
• Force his body to extend itself from one string to the other

This is because the person is limiting himself and doesn't take into account his environment. It is evident that the person should use the tools around him. For example:

• Take one string in one hand and try to use the chair as a "hook"
• Take on string in one hand and climb over the chair to try take the other one

In a more elaborated solution, he can think about some extravagant solutions

• Wet the strings in order to change their elasticity
• Hang the heavy metal piece from the string in order to elongate it and then repeat the process with the second string

These kind of solutions clearly show that the person is limiting himself by some restrictions that hasn't been mentioned and which may not even exist.

Breaking the rules!

In order to give an issue to some impossible problems, some rules shall be respected while some others can be broken. if no special restrictions have been give, it is a good idea to try to break all of them. Thus, the person in the room could try to simply cut one of the ropes off.

Imaginative solution

Of course, with some more imagination, the person could use a medium-weight object hang from one of the strings in order to swing it while taking the other and using the chair to gain some distance.

Ask an Expert

In a previous post named “The gap between Customer's explanation and his real needs” I've shown a very funny video  clearly schematizing how Customer's requirements are often unclear, contradictory, fuzzy and even crazy or impossible to implement.

At the end of the video, the Expert accepts the project, mostly because “he is an expert” and that’s what everybody expects from an Expert.

But, in the real life, how an expert could have answered to these questions?

Lets take this video as example!

He was asked to draw seven lines, all of them strictly perpendicular between them. What limits him to do it? Geometry! This is because he is thinking about linear Euclidean geometry, but nobody enunciated this requirement's limitation. Thus we can think about breaking this rule. We can easily draw two perpendicular lines in a bi-dimensional space. We can also easily imagine three perpendicular lines in a three-dimensional space. So, let’s say to the customer that the lines will be drawn in a seven-dimensional space but only three of them will be visible!

The expert was also asked to draw the Red lines with Green ink. No more limitations were given. So let’s say to the customer that the lines will be drawn in green ink, but the user will need to use some special “chromatic glasses” converting green colors into red colors.

Fresh eyes

The point is not to be limited by imaginary constraints. Instead of that, to take a look to the problem with fresh eyes.

What distinguishes an expert?

A Free Mind and a tendency to Break Some Rules!

Do you think that anyone can be an Expert?
Do you know other expert's skills that should be mentioned?



Extra reading: 
* “The gap between Customer's explanation and his real needs”
* http://cybersavoir.csdm.qc.ca/peremarquette/2012/03/15/tout-lmonde-a-son-gps/ (in French)
* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Maier

Bibliographic information

Title: Problem solving and creativity in individuals and groups
Author: Norman Raymond Frederick Maier
Publisher: Brooks/Cole Pub. Co., 1970
Original from the University of Michigan
Digitized 30 Sep 2008
Length: 493 pages

The gap between Customer's explanation and his real needs

Have you ever heard about the gap between the Customer's requirements and the point of view of the project team's members?

All the people involved in a software project have heard about the gap between: 

• Customer explanation
• Project leader's understanding
• Analyst's design
• Developed code
• Business description

And the unfortunately very common poor software results:

 Project documentation

• Operation installation
• Support

In my opinion, one of the most astonishing and even striking differences is between Customer's explanation and his real needs.

My work as Functional Analyst has shown me that very often, the customer doesn't know what he wants or, more precisely, he does not know how to explain it. It gives the opportunity to any unscrupulous marketing agent to sell him any kind of solution.

One of the tasks that I really like is the work with the customer and final users in order to help them representing (or even better, modelling) their needs. All this, in the form of graphical models, requirement specifications, user stories, storyboards, use cases, mock-ups, sketches, etc. This is a a very valuable work since it allows the customer to finely adapt his budget to target:

• All of the "Must-have" requirements
• Some "nice-to-have" requirements

We have also heard about these stories where a marketing guy sells something that cannot be developed. Moreover, with a ridiculous delay and price. Then, the dev-team shall deal with all those restrictions and try to do it in the assigned time, quality and budget. A have written a post on Answering to Impossible Requirements.

The following video illustrates some of these problems:

• Customer doesn't know exactly what he wants
• Customer requirements are
• contradictory
• fuzzy
• impossible to implement
•  Marketing agent pushes the expert guy to accept any requirement

        At the end of the sketch, everybody agrees on a "seven perpendicular red lines drown with green ink" project!

I really laugh at the "perpendicularity" question:

        - ....
        - Seven lines, all strictly perpendicular
        - To..... what?
        - eeuuhhh...... to........ everything!
           ....... among ........ themselves !
           I assume you know what perpendicular lines are like !
        - Of course he does! He is an expert!
        -  ...
        - Why are they blue?
        - Indeed, over it was that myself
        - I have a blue pen with me
        - This was just a demonst.....
        - That's the problem, the lines are blue, draw them with red ink
        - That wont solve the problem
        - How do you know before you've tried?
           Lets draw them in red ink then lets see...

Working in an Inspiring Company

Motivated people make Successful Companies.

If you could chose any company in the world, where would you like to work?

I have asked  this question to many persons around me and the answer was Google.

Then, I have asked: WHY?
The answers were mainly that they would like to work for on of the biggest and more inspiring companies.
Indeed, this company is inspiring for workers and for customers.

What makes this company to be "Inspiring"?

The main answers were:

• Because I can improve my skills by working in that company
• Because it seams that they have a lot of fun
• Because they are leaders in new technologies

A company like this receives hundreds of applications every month and they can have the best workers and propose them to their clients.

There are huge advantages for a company to be Inspiring:

• Make their clients to desire to work with them
• Make other people to envy they workers

First of all, the company need to be known by everybody. The best way to do so is by using the modern Social Media. All the people working on new technologies, experts and potential clients, usually read publications from social networking. Moreover, a real Expert, can only be expert if he is present in the social networking.
However, the best broadcasting tool you can use, is the oral "peer-to-peer". Of course, it is not about file sharing, bit about letting Passionate and Inspired people to talk about the company. Passionate people will find the correct way to inspire others.

So, let people talk about your company, but what shall they say?

Why not letting your employees to explain why are they inspired?
Inspire your Expert Team, give them the time, the tools and the scene and they will inspire the others!

For this, many different strategies are possible:

• Regular technical internal presentations will allow them to share their knowledge with other internal consultants. This could inspire other internal workers.
• Exceptional external presentations oriented to customers would allow them to display their inspiration and to have a more extended impact
• Training. A good expert can on be called so, when he can transmit his knowledge to others. And, of course, every customer wants an expert to work in his team
• Social networking widely and regularly spread their knowledge. An expert is the one being part of the international references on a particular subject

Maybe you company has only few Inspired Experts. But everybody can be an Inspiring Expert, all that you need is to find the correct motivation for every kind of personality: for some of them, there is the money, for some others there is the prestige and for some others is just the "fun". Find the motivation for every employee as I explain in Team Building / Corporating People.

Another solution could be to provide a more Experimented Inspired Expert to guide them on how to transmit their inspiration. Or even to work with them on writing social-media content or public lectures..

Even if the success is not guaranteed, remember that the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.


ISSUU presentation

GOOGLE Slides:

Or try the PREZI version:

http://prezi.com/cppxfx7aclqh/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy 

Further reading:

• Team Building / Corporating People

Automatic requirements numbering

Some time ago I was working for Airbus as Product Leader Deputy.

Among all my duties, I was responsible for writing the high level requirement specification; link it to the stakeholders’ requirements and to the technical specification.

Quality constraints in Airbus are very strict concerning the traceability, the coverage and the impact analysis.

A correct link between all the documents allows us to evaluate the progress of our project, the remaining work and impact of evolutions or bug correction.

Fortunately, there are many tools allowing us to manage these issues.

Reqtify is a very useful software used in order to create, manage and visualize the relationships between artifacts in different documents, in other words, traceability. In a previous post I have explained the "Benefits of requirements traceability"; in that post I describe how to link all the documents into a coherent structure by using a tool called Reqtify.

However, this powerful traceability requires the specification document to be written by following strict naming rules so they can be correctly traced.

Indeed, non-unique or non-homogeneous requirements IDs prevent the traceability software to find a requirement.

Under these circumstances, an automatic numbering tool perfectly prevents human errors.

Such numbering tool shall allow the writer to call it in a very easy and non-intrusive way; i.e. no pop-up or any other kind of external windows.

Airbus provided a MS Word macro called “CARE.dot”. This macro provides an automatic requirement numbering. However, the code of this macro is private, then I decided to create my own macro for requirement numbering.

Word Macro for a Functional requirements template

The configuration of this macro is very simple and its utilization very comfortable.

Hereafter the code explained

Sub AutomaticReqNumbering()
'David GARDUNO
'24/08/2011
'This macro insert automatic requirements number based on document's properties
'Define a doc property "REQ-ID", for example CMPNY-PRJ-REQ-A-
'Define a doc property "REQ-Nmbr", for example 1
'The macro will generate requirement numbers as follows
'CMPNY-PRJ-REQ-A-001-1
'CMPNY-PRJ-REQ-A-003-1
'CMPNY-PRJ-REQ-A-004-1
'CMPNY-PRJ-REQ-A-005-1

'reqnb stores the value of the reqNbrProperty property
Dim reqnb As Integer
'reqID stores the value of the reqIDProperty property
Dim reqID As String
'reqNbrProperty stores the "REQ-Nmbr" document's property
Dim reqNbrProperty  As DocumentProperty
'reqIDProperty stores the "REQ-ID" document's property
Dim reqIDProperty  As DocumentProperty

    'get the "REQ-Nmbr" document's property
    Set reNbrProperty = ActiveDocument.CustomDocumentProperties("REQ-Nmbr")
    ' get the value of the reqNbrProperty property
    reqnb = reqNbrProperty.Value
    'get the value of "REQ-ID" document's property
    reqID = ActiveDocument.CustomDocumentProperties("REQ-ID")

    'go to the beginning of the line
    Selection.HomeKey Unit:=wdLine
    'type the reqID (for example CMPNY-PRJ-REQ-A-)
    Selection.TypeText reqID
    'start typing the ID number
    If reqnb < 10 Then
        'Type one 0
        Selection.TypeText "0"

    End If

    If reqnb < 100 Then
        ‘type a second 0

Selection.TypeText "0"

    End If

    'Type the reference number
    Selection.TypeText reqnb
    'Type the version number
    Selection.TypeText "-1 "

    'Set the last blank space as bold = false
    Selection.Font.Bold = False
    Selection.MoveLeft Unit:=wdCharacter, Count:=1

    'Select the reference number
    Selection.HomeKey Unit:=wdLine, Extend:=wdExtend
    'Set the text as bold
    Selection.Font.Bold = True
    'Go to the begining of the line
    Selection.HomeKey Unit:=wdLine

    'increment the reference document's property
    reqNbrProperty.Value = reqnb + 1



End Sub


Sub AutomaticReferenceNbr()
'David GARDUNO
'24/08/2011
'This macro insert automatic reference number based on document's properties
'Define a doc property "REF-ID", for example CMPNY-PRJ-REF-A-
'Define a doc property "REF-Nmbr", for example 1
'The macro will generate reference numbers as follows
'CMPNY-PRJ-REF-A-001-1
'CMPNY-PRJ-REF-A-003-1
'CMPNY-PRJ-REF-A-004-1
'CMPNY-PRJ-REF-A-005-1

    'refnb stores the value of the refnbProperty property
    Dim refnb As Integer
    'refID stores the value of the refIDProperty property
    Dim refID As String
    'refnbProperty stores the "REF-Nmbr" document's property
    Dim refnbProperty  As DocumentProperty
    'refIDProperty stores the "REF-ID" document's property
    Dim refIDProperty  As DocumentProperty

     'get the "REF-Nmbr" document's property
    Set refnbProperty = ActiveDocument.CustomDocumentProperties("REF-Nmbr")
    ' get the value of the refnbProperty property
    refnb = refnbProperty.Value
    'get the value of "REF-ID" document's property
    refID = ActiveDocument.CustomDocumentProperties("REF-ID")


    'go to the beginning of the line
    Selection.HomeKey Unit:=wdLine
     'type the refID (eg. CMPNY-PRJ-REF-A-)
    Selection.TypeText refID
    'start typing the ID number
    If refnb < 10 Then
        'Type one 0

        Selection.TypeText "0"
    End If

    If refnb < 100 Then
        'Type a second 0

        Selection.TypeText "0"

    End If

    'Type the reference number
    Selection.TypeText refnb
    'Type the version number
    Selection.TypeText "-1 "

    'Set the last blank space as bold = false
    Selection.Font.Bold = False
    Selection.MoveLeft Unit:=wdCharacter, Count:=1

    'Select the reference number
    Selection.HomeKey Unit:=wdLine, Extend:=wdExtend
    'Set the text as bold
    Selection.Font.Bold = True
    'Go to the begining of the line
    Selection.HomeKey Unit:=wdLine

    'increment the reference document's property
    refnbProperty.Value = refnb + 1


End Sub

I have also created a template in the form of a .dot MS-Word file.



The file is named "automatic numbering.dot" . You can download the template in Zip here  or Word format here.

How to add a macro to word 

In order to activate it in Word 2003:

• Save the attached file
• Open a word document
• Menu: Outils > Modèles et compléments (Eng: Tools > Models and complements)
• Tab "Modèles", click on "Ajouter" (Eng: Tab "Models", click on "Add"
• Select the .dot file then accept
• Define a doc properrty "REF-ID", for example "CMPNY-PRJ-REF-A-" (menu Fichier > proprietés > personalisation)(Eng: menu File > properties > personalisation)
• Define a doc property "REF-Nmbr", for example 1
• Define a doc property "REQ-ID", for example "CMPNY-PRJ-REQ-A-"
• Define a doc property "REQ-Nmbr", for example 1

Observe that the .dot added a new menu "Auto Req Number"

In order to use the macro you need to put the prompt in the line concerning the ne menu, then select the "New req" or "New ref" options in the "Auto Req Number" menu


This macro will generate ID's as follows

• CMPNY-PRJ-REF-A-001
• CMPNY-PRJ-REF-A-002
• CMPNY-PRJ-REF-A-003
• CMPNY-PRJ-REF-A-004

• CMPNY-PRJ-REQ-A-001
• CMPNY-PRJ-REQ-A-002
• CMPNY-PRJ-REQ-A-003
• CMPNY-PRJ-REQ-A-004

How to easily access the macro in word

You can also create a shortkey

• Menu: Outils -> Personalisation ->Commandes (Eng: menu Tools > Personalization > commands)
• Click on "clavier" (Eng: keyboard)
• In the window "categories" select "macro"
• In the window "macros" select one of the numbering macros, for example "req numbering"
• In the line "enregistrer dans" (Eng: "Save in") select your working document
• In the line "nouvelle touche de raccourci" (Eng: "New shortkey") type your shortkey, for example Ctrl+shift+Q for requirements and Ctrl+shift+F for references

Observe that the .dot has also added a "Coller comme hyperlien" (Eng: "Paste as hyperlink") button in the toolbar.

This button will allow you to easily create links to your requirements. Fro example, there  are two requirements (007 and 010).

C264CT-BoardsConf-REQ-007 Blah blah blah

C264CT-BoardsConf-REQ-010 Blah blah blah

Now, you want to create a reference to requirement 010 in requirement 007.

• Copy the entire requirement C264CT-BoardsConf-REQ-010, then go to requirement 007 and type "See ", then click on the button "Paste as a link". Your new requirement will look like

C264CT-BoardsConf-REQ-007 Blah blah blah. See C264CT-BoardsConf-REQ-010

Now, you can navigate within your document: Ctrl+click on the new link


Finally observe that two navigation buttons were also added by the .dot to the toolbar. These buttons allow you to easily go forward and backward your links as in any regular web page.

Enjoy and comment !

---

***Note. It seams that the “Paste as hyperlink” option is deactivated for some Word versions

Mots clés Technorati : Requirements,automatic,numbering,macro,word,specification,srs,traceability,exigences,automatiques,traçabilité

Communicating Systems with UML 2

Modeling and Analysis of Network Protocols

I am very happy to present my book issue of all the work that I have done during my PhD. It deals with the application of a modeling language to a very specific domain: Communication Systems. Some applications of this work can be seen in "Modeling Network Protocols With UML"

David Garduno Barrera, Consultant 

Michel Diaz, LAAS/CNRS, Toulouse, France 

ISBN: 9781848212992 

Publication Date: June 2011   Hardback   320 pp. 

See book description on Editor site: ISTE; John Wiley & Sons

David GARDUNO, PhD. He has worked as consultant for many aeronautical companies such as Airbus and Thalès Avionics. His main duties concerned system modeling and product leading. He has also worked as trainer on system modeling (SysML), Business Process Modeling (BPM), OO Analysis and Design for the European Commission and Astrium, amongst others. He currently works for an intrnational company on electrical systems.

Michel DIAZ, Director of Research at CNRS, editor of twelve books, and 200 publications, Silver Core of IFIP, Senior Member of IEEE, member New York Academy of Sciences, listed in the Who'sWho in Science and Engineering.

Most of the current bibliography on the subject is in the form of scientific papers available in very specialized scientific publications; therefore, they use a complex language and highly technical explanations.

The rest of the literature on the subject is either specialized on teaching UML or on presenting network mechanisms together with the layers of communications protocols.

On the contrary, this book exposes a set of practical examples which can be used either for teaching UML by using protocol examples or for teaching network protocols using UML, leading to a more understandable, and simulation-based approach.

This book gives a practical approach for modeling and analyzing communication protocols using UML 2. It shows how to describe and validate the main protocols issues (as synchronization problems, client-server interactions, layer organization and behavior, etc) in an easy and understandable way. For doing so, the book considers and presents the main traditional network examples (e.g., unidirectional flows, full-duplex communication, error recovering, alternating bit). Finally, it shows the outputs resulting from a few simulations of these UML models.

David GARDUNO

Mots clés Technorati : Methods,Model,Modeling,Protocols,Requirements,Tools,UML,Software enineering,Validation,Simulation

Modeling a Network protocol with UML / SysML

UML is a general purpose modeling language, however there are some areas which are not well explored with this language. Network protocols are a very good example as explained in my book "Communicating Systems With UML 2"

The main tools for network protocol modeling are: Finite State Machines and Petri Networks. A Petri Network for a medium-sized protocol might reach many hundred of states and transitions. These kind of models allow to represent at the same time the communication algorithm and the non deterministic aspect of the subjacent network; however the model might rise incrementally when testing distributed network nodes or when simulating an entire network. Such a model is very hard to create, to analyze, to maintain and to evolve.

UML and SysML are a simple way to model each algorithm, each node and the subjacent network as a different machine.

The following example shows how to use the common diagrams existing in UML and in SysML to represent a very simple network protocol.

The ECHO protocol has the following characteristics:

1. There are two communicating entities: Client and Server
2. Client sends one “Hello” message to Server and Server answers with a “Hello_ACK” message
3. System ends  

Communication Diagram

We can better explain this behavior by using a UML Communication Diagram (this diagram is not available on SysML).

Class diagram / Block Definition Diagram

Then the first step sill be represent each node as a simple class. We can use a Class Diagram (UML) or a Block Definition Diagram (SysML).

Class Diagram: interfaces definition

In a protocol context, we can group the communication messages into groups representing the Sender-Receiver direction. Each set can be represented by an Interface. In this case, we can create two interfaces: Client_2_Server and Server_2_Client. The first interface contains the message Hello_req while the the second interface contains Hello_res.

Class Diagram: ports

The next step is to add a communication port to each node: let’s say P_C (Port_Client) and P_S (Port_Server).
Ports are not very used in the regular software models with UML; however, SysML uses this concept in a more extended way since it defines Standard Ports, Flow Ports and Item Ports..

Required and Provided interfaces

Now, let us associate the previously created interfaces to the Client and the Server classes.

From the point of view of the Client, the Server_2_Client interface is “provided” since it represents the messages that the Client can receive. In the protocols context, the “provided” interface is seen as the input messages set.

In the same way, from the point of view of the Client, the Client_2_Server interface is “required” since it represents the set of messages that the Client asks its communication partners to provide. In the protocols context, the “required” interfaces are seen as the output messages set.

Note that this is the port which is linked to the interfaces. Indeed, in the protocols context, the nodes receive and send messages through the ports, then these are the ports which should be linked to the interfaces:

  *  Realization = required interface
  *  Dependency = provided interface




It is also possible to represent the interfaces in a different way:

Composite Structure Diagram / Internal Block Diagram

Finally, we can connect the nodes through a Channel or Connector by using a Composite Structure Diagram (UML) or an Internal Block Diagram (SysML)

At this point, we have performed the structural modeling of the ECHO protocol. Now, let’s create the behavioral modeling.

First, let’s represent the expected exchange of message between the Client and the Server in a chronological order. For this, we can use a  Sequence Diagram (UML and SysML).

State Machine Diagram

The next step consist in representing the behavior of each node in order to reproduce the expected exchange of messages. For this, we can use an Activity Diagram (UML and SysML) or a State Machine Diagram (UML and SysML). Lets see the Activity Diagram for the Client node:

Activity Diagram

And now the Activity Diagram for the Server node:

Validating and Simulating the model

At this point we have all the elements allowing to represent a simple communication protocol.

The next step, which is, in my opinion, the most important of all, consist in validating and simulating the model. Indeed, in a simple example, as the one that I have represented here, it is not necessary to simulate since it is easy to verify that the proposed Activity Diagrams will effectively produce the expected sequence of messages. On the contrary, for a complex diagram, the validation and simulation of the model will allow to verify:

1. That all the states have been visited. This way, we can ensure that the is no ‘unexpected’ behavior.
2. That all the transitions have been fired. This way we can verify that there are no problems such as: Starvation or Dead locks.
3. That the combined behaviors effectively produce the expected exchange of messages in a chronological order

However, at this moment, I have no license of any of the software programs allowing this kind of simulation.

If somebody know a free program for simulating an Activity Diagram or a State machine, I’ll be glad to know it and to taste it.

Further reading in protocols modeling and simulation

You can see some of my works on protocols modeling in French version, in English version, or as a Slideshow .

David GARDUNO

Mots clés Technorati : Modeling,UML,Protocols,software engineering,SysML,simulation,Validation

Is TDR suitable for a highly layered process?

I’m currently working on “Product assistance” for an aircraft constructor and my usual tasks are Requirements writing or update.

However, the specifications that I write are not used directly by the developers’ team. On the contrary, these high level specifications are translated into a technical requirement specification which is used by the developers’ team.

For any system, the process might be divided into multiple layers and each layer might write its own specification.

The business team writes a very high level specification. The Product team writes a high level specification with some details about the final system, but without any specificity about the implementation. While the Project team writes a detailed technical specification.

Of course, all these specifications are inter-related.

In a usual "Test Driven Requirement" (TDR) approach we should create the tests at the same time that we write the specification. Moreover, the tests are used to better understand and to better explain the requirements.

In this TDR approach we might use a tabular form in order to describe the tests. Then, it should be possible to write a fixture (code) that would execute the test on the System Under Test (SUT). This is the process described by Fitnesse or GreenPepper, for example.

The problem here is that a specification created by the Business team is very far from the SUT; then it is not possible to write any fixture.

The fixture is suitable for specifications that are going to be developed directly, without any other intermediary level.

If we consider TDR as only writing tests to clarify, improve and complete the requirement specification; then it is possible to use it at any level of abstraction. However, we loose all the advantages about test reusability, non-regression, continuous validation, completion measurement, etc. that a tool such as Fitnesse or GreePepper would provide.

Indeed, TDR shows all its power when working on a specification that is going to be used directly by the development team.

D. GARDUNO

Installing Richnesse on Fitnesse

RichNesse is a WYSIWYG text editor for Fitnesse. It is based on FCKEditor. The last version of Richnesse was released on 2008-06-03; while the current version of Fitnesse was released on 2010-01-03. Richnesse is no more compatible with Fitnesse since version 2009-03-21 (more or less).
Nevertheless, it is possible to make them Work together. The instructions are as follow:

1. Download and install the Fitnesse .JAR (I'm currently using the 20100103 version) file

• You should have a folder with the fitnesse.jar file and a FitNesseRoot folder
• The server should now be up at the end of the installation process. If so, then stop it by going to the following url: http://localhost/?responder=shutdown
  

2. Download the Richnesse Zip file (I'm currently using the 0.804 version from 2008-06-03) and unzip it into the same folder as Fitnesse

• You should obtain the following files beside the fitnesse.jar one:
• RichNesse.jar
• RichNesse.plugins.properties

3. The next step is to set the properties file

• Rename the RichNesse.plugins.properties file as plugins.properties

3. At this point I got a problem: It was impossible to configure the classpath in order to point to the RichNesse.jar file. Then, I had to relocate the Richnesse files inside the Fitnesse jar file.
   

• Open the RichNesse.jar file (try using winzip, for example)
• extract the RichNesse folder
• Open the fitnesse.jar file (try using winzip, for example)
• Add the RichNesse folder that you have just extracted into the fitnesse.jar file

4. Richnesse requires a 'responder' class which is not available any more in the recent versions of fitnesse (since 2009). It also requires an old version of a 'recorder' class. Lets get them:
   

• Download the fitnesse zip folder version 2009-03-21
• unzip this file into a temporal folder
• Open the old fitnesse.jar file (try using winzip, for example)
• Extract the SecureResponder.class file from fitnesse\responders\
• Extract the SaveRecorder.class file from fitnesse\components\

5. Lets integrate the old files into the new version of FitNesse

• Open the recent fitnesse.jar file (try using winzip, for example)
• Take the SecureResponder.class file you have extracted from the old fitnesse version and add it into fitnesse\responders\
  
• Take the SaveRecorder.class file you have extracted from the old fitnesse version and add it into fitnesse\components\
• Close the fitnesse.jar file

You can now launch the fitnesse server and access it in http://localhost/. The RichNesse button should now be available on the left panel.

The problem is that, when you install Richnesse this way, the standard 'Edit' button doesn't work any more. Moreover, if you click on this 'Edit' button, there will be a call to the server, the server will not respond to this call and the client will remain waiting for the answer. I think that the server is then altered and the following request will not longer succeed. The solution is then to shut-down and then up the Fitnesse server.

One more comment. I think that, when the Richnesse plugin is installed, then the reports created when there's a problem with the fixtures are less accurate.

Do you have another solution for installing a WYSIWYG editor for Fitnesse?

D. GARDUNO

Benefits of requirements traceability

“The hardest single part of building a software system is deciding precisely what to build.
No other part of the conceptual work is as difficult as establishing the detailed technical requirements, including all interfaces to people, to machines, and to other software systems.
No other part of the work so cripples the resulting system if done wrong. No other part is more difficult to rectify later.”

Frederick P. Brooks Jr. in “No Silver Bullet: Essence and Accidents of Software Engineering.”

Bad foundations guarantee the instability of the entire building. Nevertheless The opposite is not always true. In order to have a stable building, the existence of good foundations is mandatory, but it’s not enough.

This premise is applicable to other domains than construction. In software engineering, the Software Requirement Specification (SRS) is the foundation of the entire system.

Writing a good SRS is mandatory in order to correctly start constructing stable software. However, the SRS is one of the more instable parts of software.

The number of modifications to the SRS grows very fast; we can say that 30% of requirements are modified in a midsize project.

“Changing requirements is as certain as death and taxes”

Daniel Amyot; Lecture in Software Engineering; Ottawa University

This presentation gives a brief description of the problem, then it remark the consequences and gives some advices in order to correctly write and trace requirements. Finally, it gives some examples of traceability by using the Reqtify tool.

This powerful traceability requires the specification document to be written by following strict naming rules so they can be correctly traced. In another post I give the code of a tool allowing you to add an "Automatic requirements numbering" to your Software Requirement Specifications.

Take a look to this presentation named Benefits of requirements traceability by David Garduno

D. GARDUNO

V Model Vs. Agile Methods: An historical explanation

The battle between traditional and well-established concepts against new and modern ideas is as old as the human being. The reticence to changes is also inherent to any society.

The following story gives a good example about this eternal contest . . .

Galileo Galilei was accused of witchcraft and heresy and he had to defend his ‘heretical’ theory about the heliocentric planet movement model (the model where the Earth turns around the Sun) face to the traditional geocentric model (the model where the Earth is in the center of the Universe). Galileo didn’t want to irritate the Church, and then he decided to develop his arguments as follows:

… “Your geocentric model explaining the Universe is not false; however it is quite more complicated than mine. Your model works, it allows to represent the planets’ trajectory; nevertheless I’m sure that the scientific community could take a huge advantage of my model since it is much more simple”.

Deferent and epicycle

The planets are assumed to move in a small circle, called an epicycle, which in turn moves along a larger circle called a deferent.

Copernican system

This is the heliocentric simplified system described by Copernicus in "De evolutionibus"

This simplified example shows us how traditional and dogmatic theories can slow the new ideas.

Most of the people working on software development can affirm that traditional models such as Waterfall and V model are not applied on real systems. However, this is still a standard on most industry processes.

It is true that many project have successfully applied these methods, but they could have reduced their duration and cost by using Agile methods.

David Garduno

A good explanation about Agile methods can be found in Wikipedia
A little explanation about the V model
However, I prefer the french explanation

Mots clés Technorati : Agile,Methods,V-modeling,Scrum,explanation,Modeling