CASSANDRA - KnowGravity Readme.pdf · An alternative way to increase CASSANDRA's memory...

CCCKNOWCASSANDRA

© 1999-2008, KnowGravity Inc.

CASSANDRA

README V2.1.0

June 17, 2008

1 Overview.....................................................................................................................................................................................2

2 What is CASSANDRA?...............................................................................................................................................................2

2.1 Available Application Agents...........................................................................................................................................3

2.2 Available Interface Agents ...............................................................................................................................................4

3 Installation...................................................................................................................................................................................5

3.1 Prerequisites..........................................................................................................................................................................5

3.2 Obtaining a License............................................................................................................................................................5

3.3 Basic Installation ..................................................................................................................................................................5

3.4 Optional Installation of MSAGENT ....................................................................................................................................5

3.5 If you encounter problems… ............................................................................................................................................6

4 Using CASSANDRA ....................................................................................................................................................................7

4.1 Main Dialog..........................................................................................................................................................................7

4.2 The Options Dialog..............................................................................................................................................................8

5 The Application Agents............................................................................................................................................................9

5.1 Model Export ........................................................................................................................................................................9

5.2 General Query Interface ...................................................................................................................................................9

5.2.1 Overview.........................................................................................................................................................................9

5.2.2 Simple Queries .............................................................................................................................................................10

5.2.3 Expression Queries.......................................................................................................................................................11

5.2.4 Context .........................................................................................................................................................................12

5.2.5 Options..........................................................................................................................................................................14

5.2.6 Statistics.........................................................................................................................................................................15

5.2.7 Exiting HAL ....................................................................................................................................................................15

5.3 Business Motivation Manager .........................................................................................................................................16

5.4 Business Rules Consultant.................................................................................................................................................17

5.5 Executable UML (xUML) ...................................................................................................................................................18

5.6 Project Effort and Cost Estimation..................................................................................................................................18

5.7 Review of Use Case Models ............................................................................................................................................20

5.8 Review of Domain Object Models.................................................................................................................................21

5.9 Domain Object Elaboration............................................................................................................................................21

5.10 Building Data Warehouse Models..................................................................................................................................24

6 The Interface Agents ..............................................................................................................................................................25

6.1 ARTiSAN Studio...................................................................................................................................................................25

6.2 Rational Rose 98 ................................................................................................................................................................26

6.3 Select Component Architect..........................................................................................................................................27

6.4 File ........................................................................................................................................................................................28

7 Supplied Examples..................................................................................................................................................................29

7.1 Model "FAST 2008" .............................................................................................................................................................29

7.2 Model "KG Traffic Lights 2008" .........................................................................................................................................30

7.3 Model "PaO 2008"..............................................................................................................................................................30

7.4 Model "EURent" ..................................................................................................................................................................30

CASSANDRA README V2.1.0

© 1999 -2008, KnowGravity Inc.

1 OverviewThank you very much for choosing CASSANDRA. This document contains the latest information about

CASSANDRA as well as instructions on how to install the software. If you need support for installing and/or using

CASSANDRA or if you have any feedback about bugs or suggested new features, please send an email to

[email protected] and include "CASSANDRA" in its subject.

2 What is CASSANDRA?CASSANDRA is an engineering research platform developed by KnowGravity Inc. (Switzerland, Zurich). It is an

assistant, who guides software developers through the software development process. She analyzes project in-

formation provided by one of the many familiar UML-based CASE tools and derives issues to be clarified or sug-

gests the next steps to be done in the project. CASSANDRA is available in the two variants "CASSANDRA" and

"CASSANDRA/CS". The only difference between the two is, that CASSANDRA/CS includes the KNOW component

(see below) which means that this variant requires more memory resources than standard CASSANDRA. The fol-

lowing picture gives a quick overview about the main technological components in CASSANDRA's anatomy:

CASSANDRA's anatomy may be compared with an operating system's architecture that provides basic services to

various applications (AAx: CASSANDRA's Application Agents) and provides adaptors to various (IAy:

CASSANDRA's Interface Agents).

CORE

Provides basic functionality such as I/O (including GUI, XML- and multi language support), speech output and

agent support via MS Agent technology [Microsoft, 1998], configurability and personalization, persistency, li-

censing, etc. Furthermore, it includes the components REMEMBER, KNOW (CASSANDRA/CS only), and THINK

described below. Physically, CORE is represented by CASSANDRA's EXE-file as well as several auxiliary files

(CASSANDRA.INI, CASSANDRA.LIC, CASSANDRA.DLL, CASSANDRA.OVL, META_MODEL.PC, LPAOLE3.DLL, *.BMP,

*.OPR).

REMEMBER

An active declarative database as a common repository for all project information based on the UML meta

model plus some extensions (a software engineering ontology).

CORECORE

REMEMBERREMEMBER

TA1TA1 TA2TA2 TAnTAn

KNOWKNOW

THINKTHINK

RA1RA1 RA2RA2 RAmRAm

CORECORE

REMEMBERREMEMBER

TA1AA1 TA2AA2 TAnAAn

KNOWKNOW

THINKTHINK

RA1IA1 RA2IA2 RAmIAm

mailto:[email protected]



KNOW

Common sense in form of a "domain object model of the world" based on WordNet [Princeton, 1998], consist-

ing of about 70'000 classes including their definitions, inheritance hierarchies and associations. This component

is available only in a special version of CASSANDRA, called CASSANDRA/CS (for Common Sense).

THINK

A rule-based inference engine to generate suggestions based on project information with the capability of

explaining those suggestions and findings.

Multiple Application Agents (AA1 … AAn)

Service components that actually provide CASSANDRA's (hopefully) valuable services to the users by applying

dedicated software engineering know-how. An Application Agent provides its own user interface that is

plugged-in into CORE and is physically represented by a set of files that match the pattern XA*.*.

Multiple Interface Agents (IA1 … IAm)

Interface components to adapt various external applications such as CASE tools for bi-directional information

exchange and "remote control" of those tools. An Interface Agent provides its own user interface that is

plugged-in into CORE and is physically represented by a set of files that match the pattern XI*.*.

2.1 Available Application AgentsThe following Application Agents are currently available for CASSANDRA as well as for CASSANDRA/CS:

Executable UML (XACOXUML)

Provides a comprehensive development environment for executable UML (xUML) models (executable specifi-

cations) including a standalone executable generator and facilities to define and execute test cases for ex-

ecutable specifications. (Details see 5.5)

Project Effort and Cost Estimation (XACOESTALL)

Creates a list of tasks for an IT project, based on a specification in a CASE tool plus a series of questions about

project characteristics, team characteristics, and the intended implementation technology. Finally, the effort

and cost for these tasks are estimated and a rough project plan and increment plan is produced. (Details see

Error! Reference source not found.)

Business Motivation Manager (XACOBMM)

Supports structured elaboration of business and product strategies according to OMG's Business Motivation

Model (BMM, http://www.omg.org/technology/documents/bms_spec_catalog.htm). (Details see 5.3)

Business Rules Consultant (XACOBRA)

Asks a number of questions on a particular business rules project and then determines the next recommended

steps and provides some technology as well as product recommendations suitable for that project. (Details

see 5.4)

Review of Use Case Models (XACORVUCST)

Reviews a given use case model and spots areas that need clarification or areas that might be modeled bet-

ter in a different way. It also suggests modeling alternatives and is able to explain these alternatives to the

user. (Details see Error! Reference source not found.)

Review of Domain Object Models (XAISRVBOST)

Reviews a given domain object model (DOM) based on common analysis patterns and raises domain-level

questions that need to be clarified. It is not only able to identify obsolete classes and associations, but also

missing classes and associations. Furthermore, it may suggest modeling alternatives and is able to explain

these alternatives to the user. (Details see 5.8)

Building Data Warehouse Models (XAISBLDWH)

Creates a multi-dimensional data model (cube design for a data warehouse) from the domain object model

(DOM) of a given operational application. It generates fact tables as well as dimension hierarchies by various

levels of denormalization of the domain object model. (Details see 5.10)



Model Export (XACOEXPORT)

Exports model information from a CASE tool to a file. (Details see 5.1)

In addition to the Application Agents mentioned above, the following Application Agents are available for

CASSANDRA/CS only:

General Query Interface (XACOCOHAL)

Provides a graphical user interface to query CASSANDRA/CS's common sense database as well as to control

its learning mechanisms. (Details see 5.2)

Domain Object Elaboration (XACOBLDOST)

Suggests extensions of a given domain object model (DOM) such as object definitions, generalizations, spe-

cializations, and associations based on CASSANDRA/CS's common sense database. (Details see 5.9)

Finally, a number of demo and fun applications working on both CASSANDRA platforms are included as well.

2.2 Available Interface AgentsThe following Interface Agents are currently available for CASSANDRA:

ARTiSAN Studio (XIARTISAN)

Supports the CASE tool ARTiSAN Studio V6.2 (http://www.artisansw.com/products/). (Details see 6.1)

Rational Rose (XIROSE98)

Supports the CASE tool Rational Rose 98 and 2000. (Details see 6.2)

Select Component Architect (XISELECT)

Supports the CASE tool Select Component Architect V5.0 (Details see 6.3)

File (XIFILE)

Supports access to CASSANDRA's native repository file format. (Details see 6.4)

Future developments and updates will be published on our home page www.knowgravity.com. Any feedback is

very welcome and should be sent to [email protected].



3 Installation

3.1 PrerequisitesIn order to install CASSANDRA successfully, you need to have one of the following operating systems: Windows

2000, Windows XP or Windows Vista.

3.2 Obtaining a LicenseCurrently CASSANDRA is public domain but has to be registered in order to get a free personal license key. In

order to run CASSANDRA you need a license file. Such a license file can be obtained by KnowGravity Inc. either

by personal contact or by sending an Email to [email protected] containing the following information:

Name of the company to be licensed

Name of the person that acts as the license owner

The Application Agents and Interface Agents to be activated

3.3 Basic InstallationCASSANDRA's installation is very simple:

Unzip all files in CASSANDRA.zip into a destination directory of your choice

Copy the license file(s) into that same directory

Double-click CASSANDRA.EXE or CASSANDRACS.EXE to start either CASSANDRA or CASSANDRA/CS respectively

and answer the questions asked

Optionally create a shortcut to CASSANDRA.EXE or CASSANDRACS.EXE for your convenience

3.4 Optional Installation of MSAGENTMicrosoft® Agent is a software technology that enables an enriched form of user interaction that can make using

and learning to use a computer, easier and more natural. With the Microsoft Agent set of software services, de-

velopers can easily enhance the user interface of their applications and Web pages with interactive personalities

in the form of animated characters. These characters can move freely within the computer display, speak aloud

(and by displaying text onscreen), and even listen for spoken voice commands. When used effectively with a

conversational interface approach, Microsoft Agent can be a powerful extension and enhancement of the exist-

ing interactive modalities of the Microsoft Windows® interface.

CASSANDRA optionally supports the Microsoft product "MS AGENT V2.0", which may be freely downloaded from

http://www.microsoft.com/msagent/downloads/user.aspx. The following components of "MS AGENT V2.0" have

to be installed:

Core components (MSagent.exe)

Text-to-speech engine(s) (*.EXE)

Optional Agent language component (German: AgtX0407.exe)

SAPI 4.0 runtime support, if you are using Windows XP (spchapi.exe)

Optional character such as Genie.exe, Merlin.exe, Peedy.exe, or Robby.exe.

Optional Speech recognition engine (actcnc.exe)

Optional Speech control panel (SpchCpl.exe)

When CASSANDRA is initially started, any available assistant is automatically discovered and may be activated or

changed in CASSANDRA's Options… dialog.

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.microsoft.com/msagent/downloads/user.aspx



3.5 If you encounter problems…The following tips may help you, if you discover any problems when starting or running CASSANDRA:

If any error about "CTL3D32.DLL" is reported during CASSANDRA's startup, copy the file CTL3D32.DLL into your

Windows\System (usually: C:\Windows\system) directory.

If CASSANDRA reports memory problems when analyzing large models, you will need to increase CASSAN-

DRA's internal memory configuration. This can be done either by supplying additional memory parameters in

the shortcut to CASSANDRA, e.g. (all numbers represent internal memory areas in kBytes):

/B500 /L500 /H2000 /T1000 /P4000

An alternative way to increase CASSANDRA's memory configuration is to amend the corresponding entries in

the CASSANDRA.INI file e.g.:

[pro386w]

command=/B500 /L500 /H2000 /T1000 /P4000

The corresponding settings for CASSANDRA/CS are:

/B500 /L500 /H5000 /T20000 /P70000

or more.



4 Using CASSANDRA

4.1 Main DialogAfter starting CASSANDRA, CASSANDRA's main dialog is shown (see below). In the group Currently watch-

ing... the current Interface Agent (Source) and project source (Project) is shown. The combo box How can I

assist you? shows the currently selected Application Agent. Finally, the CASSANDRA group shows some informa-

tion about the version and license of CASSANDRA.

Usually, Application Agents write some important results to a report file (e.g. the outcome of a project information

analysis). An alternative in the options dialog (see below) allows mirroring this output to a log window while an

Agent runs. On the main dialog, the following functionalities are available:

The Change… -button opens another dialog that allows the selection of the desired Interface Agent (Source)

as well as the source project from which project information has to be imported. The content of the Options

group is specific to the selected Input Interface.

The Please! -button starts the currently selected Application Agent (who in turn may open an agent-specific

dialog). Before the selected Application Agent starts working, the project data is being imported. From then

on it is cached in CASSANDRA's repository until another source is selected and loaded.

The Details… -button opens a dialog which shows the version numbers of the individual components of CAS-

SANDRA.

The Options… -button opens a dialog (see below) that allows changing the default Interface Agent, the de-

fault output language for the Application Agent as well as some other options.

The License… -button opens a dialog that shows details about the currently installed license.

The Exit -button terminates CASSANDRA.

At any time when CASSANDRA's main dialog is the top-level window, pressing Ctrl-Break aborts the current pro-

cedure.



4.2 The Options DialogThe dialog CASSANDRA Options allows the selection of various configuration options and defaults as shown be-

low.

Default source specifies the default CASE tool interface for watching at projects.

Default language specifies the default language for domain expert reports and domain-level user-

interaction.

Log path specifies the path where output files are placed. Output allows the selection of the type of output

to be produced, whereas Text produces simple ASCII output and HTML produces WEB browser compatible

output. Both XML and XML/XSL produces XML output that is compatible with the corresponding DTD-file (sup-

plied with CASSANDRA). The only difference between the two XML options is that XML/XSL output refers to one

of the supplied XSL style sheets.

Log viewer specifies where the produced output is shown. When Internal is selected, the output is shown in

a simple text window. Selecting External displays the produced output using the Log Viewer Program

(usually a WEB browser or a text editor). However, in any case, a log file is produced (also if None has been se-

lected).

Assistant mode specifies the assistant mode, where Guide means that the assistant supports the user in

using CASSANDRA's GUI. Using Character the *.acs file representing the MS AGENT character to be used

can be specified. (Details see 3.4)

Enabling Auto save results causes CASSANDRA to save some temporary work and user input back to the

project (i.e. the CASE tool). Save interval specifies the minimum time interval that CASSANDRA uses to save

its state during long lasting procedures.



5 The Application Agents

5.1 Model ExportIdentification: "Export my model…"

XACOEXPORT; Version 1.4.*

This Application Agent writes project information from CASSANDRA’s repository to an external file. This is especially

useful, when an Application Agent should run on a machine, where the source CASE tool isn't installed. In that

case, the project information can be extracted from the CASE tool on machine A using XACOEXPORT, the result-

ing file transferred to machine B and there finally imported using XIFILE.

5.2 General Query InterfaceIdentification: "Explain the whole world to me…"

XACOCOHAL; Version 1.1.*

Please note that this Application Agent is available in CASSANDRA/CS only.

5.2.1 OverviewThis Application Agent explains the whole world to you and is based on CASSANDRA's "KNOW" component called

"HAL" (Holistic Approach to Language"). HAL's content is based on the lexical database WordNet™ of the Prince-

ton University (see http://www.cogsci.princeton.edu/~wn/). To start HAL select "Explain the whole world to me" in

the combo box of CASSANDRA's main dialog and press Please! . The figure below shows the main window of HAL.

Using this Interface you can ask simple questions (group at the top) and complex questions with boolean opera-

tors and more (group in the middle). The third group allows you to ask a question in a specific context. Since the

knowledge base of HAL exists only in English, you ought to ask your questions in English too. Unfortunately other

languages are currently not supported by WordNet.

http://www.cogsci.princeton.edu/~wn/



5.2.2 Simple QueriesTo ask HAL about something, type a word in the text field in the middle of the "Simple query" group and press one

of the four buttons X... , Y... , Definition of ... or All about ... . There are several things you can find out about your

input as described below.

Definition of...

Pressing this button returns the definition of the term in the question. If there exists more than one meaning to your

input, only the first definition will be presented to you. Pressing More shows you each time the next definition until

there are no further definitions. Pressing OK returns you to the main window of HAL.

X... and Y...

Before pressing one of these buttons you should select an association from the combo box between X... or Y...

and your input. HAL will find every solution for X or Y which satisfies the selected association. When pressing X...

only the left combo box is relevant and when pressing Y... only the right combo box is relevant. The following

associations may be selected from the combo box: is a, part of, substance of, member of, value of,

causes, implies, similar to, synonym of, antonym of, participle of, derived from, see also.

Please note that not all associations are valid for all word types.

All about...

Pressing this button instructs HAL to tell you everything he knows about your input. The result is the same as press-

ing Definition of ... , X... and Y... with all possible selections from the combo box.

"Include" check boxes

With these check boxes you may instruct HAL to treat your input as a specific word type (names, nouns, verbs,

etc.). This restricts the choice in the dialog "possible meanings". (see below)

Dialog "Possible meanings"

The dialog shown below is presented if your input has more than one meaning. Select your desired meaning in

the lower window and press Add^ . Repeat this step for all meanings you are interested in and then press OK .



5.2.3 Expression QueriesThe group in the middle of the main window lets you build powerful queries. The input field is to be used for com-

plex questions, which cannot be formulated through the Simple Query interface (some example queries are al-

ready provided through the combo box). In addition to the associations from the combo box from the "Simple

query" group you can use literals, logical variables and logical operators to form your own query. To start your

general query, press Ask…. As in the Simple Query the dialog "Possible meanings" (see above) pops up if your

input has more than one meaning. The following elements may be part of an Expression Query:

Literals: A name representing a word, starting with a lowercase character (e.g. house). If the name starts with

an upper case character and/or consists of more than one word, it has to be enclosed in single quotes (e.g.

'big house').

Logical variables: A name starting with an uppercase letter representing a logical variable. A logical variable

could be considered as a placeholder for a value (or even a set of values) that is expected as a result from

running a query. For example the query "X is a house" will return tokens for X that are specializations of "house".

Note that a logical variable occurring more than once in a query expression is considered to represent the

same value for each occurrence.

Logical operators: The following operators are supported: "and", "or", and "not". They have the usual prece-

dence. If required, this precedence can be overridden by grouping sub-expressions using parentheses.



Examples

The following examples show some valid query expressions:

X part of man

Again, this query results in a set of values for the logical variable X. X may assume all parts that a man is com-

posed of (directly or indirectly). The number of answers is limited by the options "max. answers" and "query transi-

tivity part_of" (see chapter "Options" below).

X part of woman and not X part of man

This query evaluates all direct or indirect parts of a woman that are not parts of a man. Due to the complexity of

this query, expect a longer response time (several minutes, even when some options are set to low values).

X part of woman and Y part of X

This query results in a set of value pairs for the variables X and Y. Each Y represents an indirect part of a woman

and X an intermediate part between Y and a woman.

5.2.4 ContextThe third group of the main window controls the contexts. A context is a communication area which defines us-

ages of words to represent a context. As you learned from previous chapters you always have to tell HAL which

meaning of your input that should be taken for the query. To automate this process it is possible to create your

own contexts. In a context you can assign a specific meaning to a thing. The combo box of the group below on

the main window lets you select a context. With the radio buttons above the combo box, you can activate and

deactivate a context. Selecting the radio button "Learn" will instruct HAL to add specific meanings to this context

when doing queries.

Creating a Context

A context is a named area of knowledge which stores resolutions of homonyms. For example, the context "Furni-

ture" is able to disambiguate the term "table" so that it refers to a piece of furniture and not to a list of data. In

order to create a new context, please apply the following steps:

1. Press Options on the main window

2. In the group "Context learning" press New...

3. Complete the dialog shown in the figure below:

Fill in a name and a definition for your context

If you want this context to include one or more previously created contexts, you can select them with the

... button

4. Press OK

5. Close the "Options" dialog



Context Learning

In the main window of HAL, choose a context from the combo box of the context group and activate the radio

button "learn". If learning is activated and you are making a query (Simple or Expression Query), HAL will ask you

which meaning of your input you are interested in. This is the same as before. If you choose one ore more mean-

ings now, HAL will assign them to the active context. So if you make a query with the same word later and the

context is activated, HAL knows the meaning of your input now and will not ask you again. The assignment of

meanings and words is word type specific.

Example:

1. Create a context called "Computer"

2. Activate learning and type "window" in the Simple Query text field

3. Press All about...

4. Choose "a rectangular part of the computer screen... "

5. Press OK

6. HAL will show you all solutions to your question

7. Activate the Context with "On" on the main window (or leave it in "learn" mode)

8. Make the same query again (Step 2 and 3)

9. HAL knows now that a window in the context "Computer" has the meaning "a rectangular part of the com-

puter screen..." and won't ask you again.

Deleting a Context

To delete an existing context, please apply the following steps:


2. In the group "Context learning" press Del...

3. Press Yes

Editing a Context

To edit an existing context, please apply the following steps:


2. In the group "Context learning" press Edit... . The dialog shown below pops up. Edit the Definition and Includes,

and move your context between the system- and user knowledge area as you like. For details about knowl-

edge areas take a look at chapter "Options".

3. Press Forget words from this context... . The dialog "Words to be forgotten from context…" shown below pops

up.

4. Select the words you want to remove and press Add > and then OK .



5.2.5 OptionsThe "Options" dialog allows you to specify a number of options and preferences.

Association transitivity

This group lets you specify how deep HAL searches in his database to satisfy your query. If you enter a large num-

ber HAL will find more results while taking more time to complete. The left column lets you specify the values for

Simple Query and the right column the ones for Expression Query.

Knowledge area saving

This group lets you specify where the knowledge files are located.

Save system/user area

When learning was activated during a session with HAL, you can choose what HAL should do with the knowledge

learned during this session and so remember it in a later session.

Never: HAL will forget everything he has learned

Ask: HAL will ask you if he should save when exiting HAL

Always: HAL will save the new knowledge without asking you.



Source knowledge areas

Specifies which knowledge areas HAL uses for satisfying your query.

WordNet: This area includes the original knowledge from WordNetTM (see

http://www.cogsci.princeton.edu/~wn/)

System: This area includes the globally defined system knowledge.

User: This area includes the specific knowledge belonging to the currently selected project. Please select a

project in CASSANDRA before you start HAL when enabling this check box.

Other options

Interactive narrowing: When enabled, HAL lets you choose which meaning of your input you are interested in.

Otherwise HAL will find answers for all possible meanings.

Word morphing: When enabled HAL finds solutions not only for your input but also for every possible conjuga-

tion, time or plural forms of your input.

Property inheritance: When enabled HAL searches not only in the active concept (e.g. "tree") but also in all

more general concepts (e.g. "plant", etc.).

Max. answers: Limits the number of answers to be searched to the given value.

Max. assocs: Limits the number of associations shown in an answer to the given value per association type.

5.2.6 StatisticsPress Statistics... to get an insight of the size of HAL's current knowledge (see below).

5.2.7 Exiting HALWhen closing HAL after learning some new knowledge, he will ask you (depending on the options chosen) if he

should remember the learned knowledge in a later session. The figure below shows the options:

Remember it globally: HAL will remember the new knowledge system wide.

Remember it locally: HAL will remember the new knowledge only in the project that was activated in

CASSANDRA when starting HAL. This button is inaccessible if no project is selected.

Forget it: HAL will forget what he has learned in this session.

http://www.cogsci.princeton.edu/~wn/



5.3 Business Motivation ManagerIdentification: "Manage my business motivation…"

XACOBMM; Version 1.1.*

This Application Agent supports elaboration of a strategy model based on the Business Motivation Model (BMM)

of the Object Management Group (OMG). It provides a simple dialog-based user interface to capture visions,

goals, strategies, tactics, assessments and other elements of the BMM as well as to relate these concepts to each

other.

BMM Quick Start

1. Either

create a new model by clicking "Change..."/"New project", set a file name and then closing that dialog

or

open an existing model (such as EURent.rep) by clicking "Change..."/"...", select a file and then closing that

dialog

2. Select "Manage my business motivation" in the "How can I assist you" combobox and then press "Please!"

3. On the "Business Motivation Manager" dialog, double-click on an item (e.g. strategy, or business rule, etc.) of

your interest.



4. Now, you may…

create a new such item by pressing the "New" button

open an existing item by double-clicking on it

perform a full-text search by entering the text to be searched in the search field and pressing the "Search"

button.

5. On the item dialog, you may

edit the item's fields

switch to another item ("Switch..." button)

create a new item of that type ("New" button)

delete the item ("Delete..." button)

see the definition of the item type ("Definition" button)

navigate to an associated item by double-clicking on the item in the "Associations" listing

establish or delete its associations ("Add/Rem" buttons)

? select an object-specific operation by selecting it in the top combobox and pressing the ? "Go" button.

6. Global (model-wide) operations may be performed by selecting the requested operation on the "Business

Motivation Manager" dialog and then pressing the ? "Go" button.

7. The tool may be closed by closing the "Business Motivation Manager" dialog (any changes will be saved).

5.4 Business Rules ConsultantIdentification: "Help me in a Business Rules project…"

XACOBRA; Version 1.1.*

This Application Agent asks a number of questions on a particular business rules project and then determines the

next steps recommended and provides some technology as well as product recommendations suitable for that

project. The main dialog of this Application Agent looks as follows:

The main dialog allows you to select a few options and to start an interactive session. The elements on this dialog

have the following functionalities:

The check boxes let you specify the topics you ask for advice. You may select one or more of those topics in a

session.

The button Show all known products… lists all BR products currently known to this Application Agent.

The button Start session… starts an interactive session by asking a number of questions and finishing with a

detailed report of recommendations.

Upon completion of the session, the main dialog is shown again. This time, the Modify answers... - and Explain

results... -buttons are enabled and allow the selection of specific questions for re-answering to run a "what if"

analysis, or the explanation of all given recommendations.



5.5 Executable UML (xUML)Identification: "Simulate my model…"

XACOXUML; Version 2.0.*

This Application Agent provides a comprehensive development environment for executable UML models (execu-

table specifications) including a standalone executable generator and facilities to define and execute test cases

for executable specifications. Details about this Application Agent may be found in the dedicated xUML User's

Guide xUML UG.pdf.

5.6 Project Effort and Cost EstimationIdentification: "Estimate development efforts for my project…"

XACOESTALL; Version 1.2.*

This Application Agent creates a list of development activities and suggests effort and cost estimations for these

activities based on your model as well as a set of technical, human and environmental factors about your pro-

ject. Specifically, the following information is generated by CASSANDRA:

Activities to be carried-out to develop the application

An effort estimation in person days for each of these activities

A rough cost estimation for each development phase for the project

An estimation of the duration of the project as well as an initial project plan.

Upon running the first effort estimation session for a project, information not available in the model of your project

is asked interactively by CASSANDRA. Running another estimation for the same project session later, CASSANDRA

remembers the answers given in the previous session and does not ask the same questions again.

CASSANDRA is able to explain all questions asked to the user as well as to reason about the given estimations in

natural language. By the ability of selectively re-answer some questions after running an initial estimation session,

the user may perform so-called "what if" analyses to explore the impacts of some specific project factors.

After selecting a project and starting this Application Agent, the following main dialog is presented to the user:



The main dialog contains some initial information about the project and allows the specification of the following

options:

The group Project Characteristics allows the definition of some general characteristics of the project.

Pressing the Explain… -button explains these characteristics in more detail.

The group Team Characteristics allows the definition of some characteristics about the development team

such as size, cost and experience. Again, pressing the Explain… -button explains these characteristics in more

detail.

The values in the group Specification Characteristics are usually automatically derived from the project

model in your CASE tool. Pressing the Explain… -buttons explains the characteristics of the individual sub-

groups in more detail.

Pressing the Start estimation...-button starts the actual estimation session meanwhile CASSANDRA initially asks a

whole set of specific questions about the project (approx. 25 to 40 questions, depending on the nature of your

project). Such a question is asked using a dialog similar to the following:

By pressing the Why? - and Explain! -buttons, CASSANDRA further explains the current question. When the an-

swer is not (yet) known, the Don't Know -button can be pressed. This causes some uncertainties in the estima-

tion as well as the question being re-asked in the next estimation session. Finally, pressing the Cancel -button

terminates the current estimation session.



Upon completion of the estimation session, a report containing the actual estimations is generated and the

main dialog is shown again. This time, the Modify answers... - and Explain results... -buttons are enabled and al-

low the selection of specific questions for re-answering to run a "what if" analysis, or the explanation of all given

estimations.

Modeling Issues

In order to be able classifying specification elements properly, CASSANDRA relies on the following modeling con-

ventions:

Technical (i.e. non-human) external systems should either be modeled as actors or as objects, both stereo-

typed as «app», «application», «machine», «system», or «subsystem».

Non-interactive use cases, i.e. use cases that represented automated activities having no user interface

should be stereotyped as «batch».

Business objects of an information system should not be stereotyped as «app», «application», «machine», «sys-

tem», or «subsystem».

Domain objects of a real-time control system should be stereotyped as «product», «process», or «cl», if they are

controller layer objects and as «device» or «hal», if they are HAL objects.

5.7 Review of Use Case ModelsIdentification: "Review my use case statics…"

XACORVUCST; Version 1.3.*

This Application Agent reviews a use case model stored in CASSANDRA’s repository based on some common

analysis pattern. CASSANDRA searches the use case model for such patterns and may derive domain-level ques-

tions about the model in natural language.

The main dialog of this Application Agent (see above) allows the selection of the following options:

The group Analysis options allows the selection of the patterns to be searched.

The group Processing options allows to specify how the analysis processing is done and the requested type

of output. If Interactive session is selected, CASSANDRA starts an interactive session after the analysis to

gather further domain information from the user. If Reuse answers is selected, CASSANDRA remembers any

answers previously given by the user and does not ask the same questions again.

Finally, this dialog allows the selection of the type of report to be generated. The Analyst-report shows the

patterns found in a very detailed way using objects and association paths. The Domain Expert-report only

shows the questions raised by the found patterns in natural language.



5.8 Review of Domain Object ModelsIdentification: "Review my business object statics…"

XAISRVBOST; Version 1.4.*

This Application Agent reviews a business object model stored in CASSANDRA’s repository based on some com-

mon analysis pattern. CASSANDRA searches the business object model for such patterns and may derive domain-

level questions about the model in natural language.

The main dialog of this Application Agent (see above) allows the selection of the following options:

The group Analysis options allows the selection of patterns to be searched as well as their maximum complex-

ity (Order). Reducing the order will increase analysis speed but some more complex pattern might then not

being found. The Defaults-button resets the individual orders to a recommended value depending on the size

of the currently loaded business object model.

The group Processing options allows to specify how the analysis processing is done and the requested type of

output. If a previous analysis run has been done for that project, CASSANDRA usually has stored some results

with the project. If the project hasn't changed since then, no new (time consuming) analysis is required (No

analysis). If it has changed, CASSANDRA suggests Incremental analysis, i.e. only the differences are analyzed. If

Interactive session is selected, CASSANDRA starts an interactive session after the analysis to gather further do-

main information from the user. If Reuse answers is selected, CASSANDRA remembers any answers previously

given by the user and does not ask the same questions again.

Finally, this dialog allows the selection of the type of report to be generated. The Analyst report shows the pat-

terns found in a very detailed way using objects and association paths. The Domain Expert -report only shows the

questions raised by the found patterns in natural language.

5.9 Domain Object ElaborationIdentification: "Elaborate my domain object model…"

XACOBLDOST; Version 1.0.*

Please note that this Application Agent is available in CASSANDRA/CS only.

This Application Agent helps you to build a domain object model by giving you constructive input. To start this

agent, first select a project and then select "Elaborate my domain object model…" in the combo box of

CASSANDRA's main dialog and press Please! . The figure below shows the main window of this Application Agent.



Press Start to elaborate your model now. For every object, CASSANDRA will check what she knows about it and

displays what she has found. Often there exists more than one meaning for a single name, in that case

CASSANDRA displays the dialog shown below. Select the appropriate meaning and press Add^ . Repeat this step

for all meanings you are interested in and then press OK . Because CASSANDRA's knowledge base currently exists

in English only, you have to name your objects in English. CASSANDRA is able to suggest the following information

about your objects: descriptions, subclasses, superclasses, aggregations, and synonyms.

Options

There are 3 check boxes, a combo box and the button Advanced... in this group.

Combo box: This combo box lets you choose which domain CASSANDRA has to use for elaborating your ob-

ject names (a "domain" is the same as a "context" in HAL's native interface). A domain is a communication

area which defines usage of words to represent a domain.

Domain: When activated, CASSANDRA uses the domain selected in the combo box to find the appropriate

meanings of your object names. If this check box is disabled, no domain will be used and CASSANDRA will ask

you for the meanings of all object names.

Interactive: When activated, CASSANDRA asks which meaning you are interested if she finds an object name

that has several meanings. Otherwise CASSANDRA will display results for every meaning.

Learn: When activated, CASSANDRA saves your decisions made when choosing a specific meaning and

stores them in the domain selected in the combo box.

Advanced... Please refer to the "Readme XACOCOHAL.DOC" for a description of this dialog box. Some items

are inaccessible, since they are automatically controlled by this Application Agent.



Suggest group

The check boxes in the suggest group on the main window let you restrict the output on the type of information

you are interested in. For subclasses, superclasses and aggregations it is possible to specify how deep

CASSANDRA will search in her knowledge. A distance of 0 (zero) means, that CASSANDRA only shows you direct

sub-, super-classes or aggregations (no intermediate concepts). Additionally, you may control the number of

results with the value "Limit suggestions to:".

Saving your context

When CASSANDRA has finished elaborating your object domain model, she will ask you whether you want to save

the newly learned knowledge (see below).

Remember it globally … : CASSANDRA will save the new knowledge in the system-wide knowledge.

Remember it locally … : CASSANDRA will save the new knowledge in the selected project only.

Forget it: CASSANDRA will forget the new knowledge.



5.10 Building Data Warehouse ModelsIdentification: "Design a data warehouse for my application…"

XAISBLDWH; Version 1.4.*

This Application Agent builds a data warehouse cube design (i.e. one or more star models) from the business

object model stored in CASSANDRA’s repository.

CASSANDRA does this basically by searching for business objects that have no details and considers those as fact

table candidates. Then, starting from those "fact table business objects", all masters of those business objects are

denormalized giving a set of dimension candidates around the fact tables, i.e. a cube or star. For each dimen-

sion, its direct and indirect masters are used to build aggregation levels in the dimension hierarchy. Then, generic

dimensions such as time and fact table state are generated and added to the individual cubes.

Finally, all dimensions shared by more than one fact tables are classified as "conformed dimensions", whereas

dimensions valid for one single fact table only are classified as "non-conformed or private dimensions".

The main dialog (see above) allows the selection of the following options:

When Build columns is selected, columns of fact tables and dimension tables are generated as far as possi-

ble (see limitation XAISBLDWH-P01 below). These are mainly artificial keys and measures in fact tables and de-

rived from the associations of denormalized masters in dimension tables. When Build state dimensions is

selected, a private dimension representing the fact table’s state is generated for each fact table. The option

Build time dimension allows the generation of a hierarchical conformed time dimension with a selectable

resolution.

The option Minimum dimensions limits the generation of cubes to cubes that must have at least the specified

number of dimensions. The value given in Max. dimension hierarchy specifies the maximum allowed indi-

rection of masters to build aggregation hierarchies in dimensions. Denormalization level finally specifies

the maximum level of indirection of fact table masters that are denormalized in order to obtain dimensions for

that fact table.



6 The Interface Agents

6.1 ARTiSAN StudioIdentification: "ARTiSAN Studio"

XIARTISAN; Version 2.3.*

This Interface Agent reads project information from the CASE Tool "ARTiSAN Studio", Version 6.0 or later. The Op-

tions group allows the selection of the project to be imported and shows the source directory and modification

date of that project. Using the Packages option, a specific subset of packages in the selected project can be

specified. If such a package list is specified, only elements in one of those packages are imported into

CASSANDRA.

The option Persistent objects only limits the import to objects that have the property "Persistent" set to "TRUE"

in ARTiSAN Studio. The option Recognize aspects splits class names in the form "concept (aspect)" into the cor-

responding concept and aspect. If the option is disabled, an aspect with the name "concept (aspect)" is cre-

ated. The option Handle datatypes causes the recognition of datatypes for attributes as well as for event pa-

rameters. The Clear cookies… -button allows the deletion of all previously stored CASSANDRA information about

the selected project.



6.2 Rational Rose 98Identification: "Rational Rose 98"

XIROSE98; Version 1.4.*

This Interface Agent reads project information from the CASE Tool "Rational Rose" (versions 98, 98i, and 2000). The

Options group allows the selection of the model file to be imported and shows the source directory and modifi-

cation date of it.


in Rational Rose. The option Recognize Aspects splits class names of the form "concept (aspect)" into the corre-

sponding concept and aspect. If the option is disabled, an aspect with the name "concept (aspect)" is imported.

The Clear cookies… -button allows the deletion of all previously stored CASSANDRA information about the se-

lected project.



6.3 Select Component ArchitectIdentification: "Select Component Architect V5.0"

XISELECT; Version 1.2.*

This Interface Agent reads project information from the CASE Tool "Select Component Architect" (version 5.0 or

later). The Options group allows the selection of the project to be imported and shows the source directory and

modification date of that project. Using the Diagrams option, a specific subset of diagrams in the selected pro-

ject can be specified. If such a diagram list is specified, only elements shown on one of those diagrams are im-

ported into CASSANDRA.


in Select Enterprise. The option Recognize Aspects splits class names in the form "concept (aspect)" into the

corresponding concept and aspect. If the option is disabled, an aspect with the name "concept (aspect)" is cre-

ated. The option Parse names causes the recognition of stereotypes in any names (delimited by any of the pairs

<>, <<>>, or «») as well as derived elements (names starting with "/"). Since Select Enterprise does not support the

generalization of use cases as defined in UML 1.3, the option Extends as generalization causes the interpre-

tation of «extends» as associations between use cases as generalization. The Clear cookies… -button allows the

deletion of all previously stored CASSANDRA information about the selected project.



6.4 FileIdentification: "File"

XIFILE; Version 1.3.*

This Interface Module reads project information from a file that has been created by the XACOEXPORT Applica-

tion Agent. This is especially useful, when an Application Agent should run on a machine, where the source CASE

tool isn't installed. In that case, the project information can be extracted from the CASE tool on machine A using

XACOEXPORT, the resulting file transferred to machine B and there imported using XIFILE. The Options group al-

lows the selection of the file to be imported and shows the modification date of that file.

Pressing the New project… -button causes the creation of a new, empty project file. This might be useful or even

necessary for Application Agents that do not operate on any CASE data, but need a place to store project spe-

cific data. The Clear cookies… -button allows the deletion of all previously stored CASSANDRA information about

the selected project.



7 Supplied ExamplesThe following example models are supplied as CASSANDRA Repository files. They are all (also) available in CAS-

SANDRA's native format that may be used without having any CASE tool available.

7.1 Model "FAST 2008"Purpose: A simple use case model and business object model from the transportation domain that

illustrates the use case and domain object reviewers as well as the effort estimation.

Available formats: "FAST 2008.ZIP" (ARTiSAN Studio v6.2), "FAST 2008.MDL" (Rose 98), and "FAST 2008.REP"

(CASSANDRA's native format).

Diagrams

driver

truck-GPS

planer

salesman

reportdelivery

report stay

search truck

definetransportation

plan

idetermoneroute

online help

track truck

billingdetermine

pricetake order

«include» «include»

«include»

«include»

«extend»

«extend»

«extend»«extend»

location

stay

drive

place

road

route

standard order

individual order

order

transportation plantruck

customer

*1

at

*1

on

*

1

1..*

*

part of

*

1*1

*1

*

*

*

1 origin

from

*

1 destination

to

*

1 origin

pick*

1

destination

drop

*

1



7.2 Model "KG Traffic Lights 2008"Purpose: An executable UML model to illustrate the features of CASSANDRA/xUML for technical systems

as well as the effort estimation.

Available formats: "KG Traffic Lights 2008.ZIP" (ARTiSAN Studio v6.2), "KG Traffic Lights 2008.REP" (CASSANDRA's

native format).

Diagrams: See Appendix A in xUML User's Guide

7.3 Model "PaO 2008"Purpose: An executable UML model to illustrate the features of CASSANDRA/xUML for information sys-

tems as well as the effort estimation.

Available formats: "PaO 2008.ZIP" (ARTiSAN Studio v6.2), "PaO 2008.REP" (CASSANDRA's native format).

Diagrams: See Appendix B in xUML User's Guide

7.4 Model "EURent"Purpose: A Business Motivation Model of the standard case study "EU-Rent" (to be used by the Business

Motivation Manager, see section 5.3).

Available formats: "EURent.REP" (CASSANDRA's native format).

Diagrams: (not applicable)

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