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Extended COmponent Architecture Design and Maintenance

Objective

Project results will consist in a set of tools enabling the use of component-based software engineering (CBSE) in the full life cycle of software applications (Design time, Compose time, Implementation time, Maintenance time). It will thus propose a solution for the difficult task of maintaining this kind of user applications. The starting point is a previous Esprit IV project (DEADA - Application development environment using components) that ECO-ADM extends to support the integration of off-the-shelf (DCOM and CORBA) components. This feature will allow organisations to produce cheaper, easier and more affordable applications, opening CBSE technology to SMEs. The proposing consortium is composed by some of the former DEADA partner (CCS, and University of Lancaster) together with EIDOS (I), Engineering Ingegnieria Informatica S.p.A (I) Meadows freight (IR).

Objectives:
The main objective of ECO-ADM is to produce a set of tools to build up application using components, including "commercial-off-the-shelf" components, covering the entire life-cycle of the software applications (design, compose, implementation and maintenance). This aims at solving problems related with complex and costly maintenance tasks that occur in the frame of using component-base software engineering. ECO-ADM's goal is to make CBSE cheaper (20% decrease in "total cost of ownership" for the application) and easier (lowering the knowledge level required to operate it). This would make CBSE affordable for all kinds of companies, in particular for SMEs, which require frequent changes but are tightly resource-constrained. The ECO-ADM tools should also benefit software developers (remote as well as local) by delivering built-in applications maintainability and reusability during architectural design, and by providing tools for product composition to address differing user needs without compromising component reusability.

Work description:
Starting from the mentioned four parts in the life-cycle of an application built from commercial-of-the-shelf components, the ECO-ADM project workprogramme will cover the development of elements used for the Design-Time, (Architectural Description Language and its graphical visualiser), the Compose-Time (Composer tool), the Implementation-Time (Implementer tool) and the Maintenance-Time (Maintainer tool), as well as the ECO-ADM/Repository, for containing the information users need to run the application. The project is divided in three main phases, during 36 months of work. That permits to have two market assesments (between phase I/II and II/III) and deliver two versions of ECO-ADM tools before the final version, for testing, dissemination and marketing purposes.

The three steps are:
- ECO-ADM V1.0 including the ADL language and a graphical tool to design and draw the COTS application architecture following a 2D model, and a basic set of functionality for the component Composer and Implementer;
- ECO-ADM V2.0 adding to version 1.0 the capabilities to design & analyse the COTS application architecture in 3D view. Composer and Implementer will be enhanced and the Maintainer tool will be with basic functionality;
- ECO-ADM Final Version, adding to version 2.0 the complete Maintainer tools functionality plus the enhancements defined in the research tasks and the end user validation activities. The product resulting from this phase shall be ready for exploitation. The ECO-ADM Repository and the Query System resulting from each version of these phases, will have the required level to support the target functionality of each of them.
The ECO-ADM project will be based on four WPs. WP1 is concerned with the Project Management, the market assessments, dissemination and marketing activities and in preparing the exploitation phase of the product. WP2, includes the ECO-ADM specification, design and test of the V1.0. WP3 has the same type of work content related to V2.0 of the ECO-ADM product and WP4 will allow to deliver the Final Version.

Milestones:
Milestones and results of the ECO-ADM project are:
1. T0 + 17 = delivery of ECO-ADM prototype V1.0;
2. T0 + 29 = delivery of ECO-ADM prototype V2.0;
3. T0 + 35 = delivery of Final Version of ECO-ADM prototype.
Market assessments are due at T0 + 16 and T0 + 28.
Marketing, dissemination and exploitation will extend from T0 + 8 to T0 +35.
Final report and Analysis of Results are due at T0 + 35.

Call for proposal

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Coordinator

CENTRO DE CALCULO DE SABADELL SA
EU contribution
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Address
AVENIDA CASTELL DE BARBERA 22-24
08210 BARBERA DEL VALLES
Spain

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Total cost
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Participants (4)