Experience with case tools in the design of process-oriented software

In Accelerator systems such as the CERN PS complex, process equipment has a life time which may exceed the typical life cycle of its related software. Taking in account the variety of such equipment, it is important to keep the analysis and design of the software in a system- independent form. This paper discusses the experience gathered in using commercial CASE tools for analysis, design and reverse engineering of different process- oriented software modules, with a principal emphasis on maintaining the initial analysis in a standardized form. Such tools are in existence for several years, but this paper shows that they are not entirely adapted to our needs.In particular, the paper stresses the problems of integrating such a tool in an existing data-base-dependent development chain, the lack of real-time simulation tools and of object-oriented concepts in existing commercial packages. Finally, the paper attempts to show a broader view of software engineering needs in our particular context.