IDEF
Encyclopedia
IDEF, an abbreviation of Integration Definition, refers to a family of modeling language
s in the field of systems
and software engineering
. They cover a wide range of uses, from functional modeling to data, simulation, object-oriented analysis/design and knowledge acquisition. These "definition languages" were developed under funding from U.S. Air Force and although still most commonly used by them, as well as other military and Department of Defense (DoD) agencies, are in the public domain
.
The most-widely recognized and used components of the IDEF family are IDEF0
, a functional modeling language building on SADT
, and IDEF1X
, which addresses information models
and database design
issues.
In 1995 only the IDEF0
, IDEF1X
, IDEF2, IDEF3
and IDEF4
had been developed in full. Some of the other IDEF concepts had some prelimary design. Some of the last efforts were new IDEF developments in 1995 toward establishing reliable methods for business constraint discovery IDEF9, design rationale capture IDEF6
, human system, interaction design IDEF8, and network design IDEF14.
The methods IDEF7, IDEF10, IDEF11, IDEF 12 and IDEF13 haven't been developed any further than their initial definition.
Definition, initiated in the 1970s at the US Air Force Materials Laboratory, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio by Dennis E. Wisnosky
, Dan L. Shunk and others. and completed in the 1980s. IDEF was a product of the Integrated Computer-Aided Manufacturing
(ICAM
) initiative of the United States Air Force
. The IEEE
recast the IDEF abbreviation as "Integration DEFinition."
The specific projects that produced IDEF were ICAM project priorities 111 and 112 (later renumbered 1102). The subsequent Integrated Information Support System (IISS) project priorities 6201, 6202, and 6203 attempted to create an information processing
environment that could be run in heterogeneous physical computing environments. Further development of IDEF occurred under those projects as a result of the experience gained from applications of the new modeling techniques. The intent of the IISS efforts was to create 'generic subsystems' that could be used by a large number of collaborating enterprises, such as U.S. Defense contractor
s and the armed forces of friendly nations.
At the time of the ICAM 1102 effort there were numerous, mostly incompatible, data model
methods for storing computer data — Sequential
(VSAM), Hierarchical
(IMS
), Network
(Cincom
's TOTAL and CODASYL
, and Cullinet
's IDMS
). The relational data model was just emerging as a promising way of thinking about structuring data for easy, efficient, and accurate access. Relational Database Management System
s had not yet emerged as a general standard for data management.
The ICAM program office deemed it valuable to create a "neutral" way of describing the data content of large-scale systems. The emerging academic literature suggested that methods were needed to process data independently
of the way it was physically stored
. Thus the IDEF1 language was created to allow a neutral description of data structures that could be applied regardless of the storage method or file access method.
IDEF1 was developed under ICAM program priority 1102 by Dr Robert R. Brown of the Hughes Aircraft Company, under contract to SofTech, Inc.
Dr Brown had previously been responsible for the development of IMS
while working at Rockwell International
. Rockwell chose not to pursue IMS as a marketable product but IBM, which had served as a support contractor during development, subsequently took over the product and was successful in further developing it for market. Dr Brown credits his Hughes' colleague Mr Timothy Ramey as the inventor of IDEF1 as a viable formalism for modeling information structures. The two Hughes' researchers built on ideas from and interactions with many luminaries in the field at the time. In particular, IDEF1 draws on the following techniques:
The effort to develop IDEF1 resulted in both a new method for information modeling and an example of its use in the form of a "reference information model of manufacturing." This latter artifact was developed by D. S. Coleman of the D. Appleton Company (DACOM) acting as a sub-contractor to Hughes and under the direction of Mr Ramey. Personnel at DACOM became quite expert at IDEF1 modeling and subsequently produced a training course and accompanying materials for the IDEF1 modeling technique.
Experience with IDEF1 revealed that the translation of information requirements into database designs was more difficult than had originally been anticipated. The most beneficial value of the IDEF1 information modeling technique was its ability to represent data independent of how those data were to be stored and used. It provided data modelers and data analysts with a way to represent data requirements during the requirements-gathering process. This allowed designers to decide which DBMS to use after the nature of the data requirements was understood and thus reduced the "misfit" between data requirements and the capabilities and limitations of the DBMS. The translation of IDEF1 models to database designs, however, proved to be difficult.
The IDEF0 Functional Modeling method is designed to model the decisions, actions, and activities of an organization or system. It was derived from the established graphic modeling language Structured Analysis and Design Technique
(SADT) developed by Douglas T. Ross
and SofTech, Inc.
. In its original form, IDEF0 includes both a definition of a graphical modeling language (syntax
and semantics
) and a description of a comprehensive methodology for developing models. The US Air Force commissioned the SADT developers to develop a function model
method for analyzing and communicating the functional perspective of a system. IDEF0 should assist in organizing system analysis and promote effective communication between the analyst and the customer through simplified graphical devices.
To satisfy the data modeling
enhancement requirements that were identified in the IISS-6202 project, a sub-contractor, DACOM, obtained a license to the Logical Database Design Technique (LDDT) and its supporting software (ADAM). LDDT had been developed in 1982 by Robert G. Brown of The Database Design Group entirely outside the IDEF program and with no knowledge of IDEF1. LDDT combined elements of the relational data model, the E-R model, and generalization in a way specifically intended to support data modeling and the transformation of the data models into database designs. The graphic syntax of LDDT differed from that of IDEF1 and, more importantly, LDDT contained interrelated modeling concepts not present in IDEF1. Mary E. Loomis wrote a concise summary of the syntax and semantics of a substantial subset of LDDT, using terminology compatible with IDEF1 wherever possible. DACOM labeled the result IDEF1X
and supplied it to the ICAM program.
Because the IDEF program was funded by the government, the techniques are in the public domain
. In addition to the ADAM software, sold by DACOM under the name Leverage, a number of CASE
tools, such as ERwin
, use IDEF1X
as their representation technique for data modeling.
The IISS projects actually produced working prototypes of an information processing environment that would run in heterogeneous computing environments. Current advancements in such techniques as Java
and JDBC are now achieving the goals of ubiquity and versatility across computing environments which was first demonstrated by IISS.
The third IDEF (IDEF2) was originally intended as a user interface modeling method. However, since the Integrated Computer-Aided Manufacturing
(ICAM) Program needed a simulation modeling tool, the resulting IDEF2 was a method for representing the time varying behavior of resources in a manufacturing system, providing a framework for specification of math model based simulations. It was the intent of the methodology program within ICAM
to rectify this situation but limitation of funding did not allow this to happen. As a result, the lack of a method which would support the structuring of descriptions of the user view of a system has been a major shortcoming of the IDEF system. The basic problem from a methodology point of view is the need to distinguish between a description of what a system (existing or proposed) is supposed to do and a representative simulation model that will predict what a system will do. The latter was the focus of IDEF2, the former is the focus of IDEF3
.
The development of IDEF4
came from the recognition that the modularity, maintainability and code reusability that results from the object-oriented programming
paradigm can be realized in traditional data processing
applications. The proven ability of the object-oriented programming paradigm to support data level integration in large complex distributed systems is also a major factor in the widespread interest in this technology from the traditional data processing community.
IDEF4
was developed as a design tool for software designers who use object-oriented languages such as the Common Lisp Object System, Flavors, Smalltalk
, Objective-C
, C++
, and others. Since effective usage of the object-oriented paradigm requires a different thought process than used with conventional procedural or database languages, standard methodologies such as structure chart
s, data flow diagram
s, and traditional data design model
s (hierarchical, relational, and network) are not sufficient. IDEF4 seeks to provide the necessary facilities to support the object-oriented design decision making process.
IDEF5
, or Integrated Definition for Ontology Description Capture Method, is a software engineering method to develop and maintain usable, accurate, domain ontologies
. In the field of computer science ontologies are used to capture the concept
and object
s in a specific domain
, along with associated relationships and meanings. In addition, ontology capture helps coordinate projects by standardizing terminology
and creates opportunities for information
reuse. The IDEF5 Ontology Capture Method has been developed to reliably construct ontologies in a way that closely reflects human understanding
of the specific domain.
In the IDEF5 method, an ontology is constructed by capturing the content of certain assertions about real-world objects, their properties and their interrelationships, and representing that content in an intuitive and natural form. The IDEF5 method has three main components: A graphical language to support conceptual ontology analysis, a structured text language for detailed ontology characterization, and a systematic procedure that provides guidelines for effective ontology capture.
IDEF6
, or Integrated Definition for Design Rationale Capture, is a method to facilitate the acquisition, representation, and manipulation of the design rationale
used in the development of enterprise systems. Rationale is the reason, justification, underlying motivation, or excuse that moved the designer to select a particular strategy or design feature. More simply, rationale is interpreted as the answer to the question, “Why is this design being done in this manner?” Most design methods focus on the what the design is (i.e. on the final product, rather than why the design is the way it is).
IDEF6 will be a method that possesses the conceptual resources and linguistic capabilities needed (i) to represent the nature and structure of the information that constitutes design rationale within a given system, and (ii)
to associate that rationale with design specifications, models, and documentation for the system. IDEF6 is applicable to all phases of the information system development process, from initial conceptualization through both preliminary and detailed design activities. To the extent that detailed design decisions for software systems are
relegated to the coding phase, the IDEF6 technique should be usable during the software construction process as well.
IDEF9, or Integrated Definition for Business Constraint Discovery, is designed to assist in the discovery and analysis of constraints in a business system. A primary motivation driving the development of IDEF9 was an acknowledgment that the collection of constraints that forge an enterprise system is generally poorly defined. The knowledge of what constraints exist and how those constraints interact is incomplete, disjoint, distributed, and often completely unknown. This situation is not necessarily alarming. Just as living organisms do not need to be aware of the genetic or autonomous constraints that govern certain behaviors, organizations can (and most do) perform well without explicit knowledge of the glue that structures the system. In order to modify business in a predictable manner, however, the knowledge of these constraints is as critical as knowledge of genetics is to the genetic engineer.
and communication networks. It can be used to model existing ("as is") or envisioned ("to be") networks. It helps the network designer to investigate potential network designs and to document design rationale. The fundamental goals of the IDEF14 research project developed from a perceived need for good network designs that can be implemented quickly and accurately.
Modeling language
A modeling language is any artificial language that can be used to express information or knowledge or systems in a structure that is defined by a consistent set of rules...
s in the field of systems
Systems engineering
Systems engineering is an interdisciplinary field of engineering that focuses on how complex engineering projects should be designed and managed over the life cycle of the project. Issues such as logistics, the coordination of different teams, and automatic control of machinery become more...
and software engineering
Software engineering
Software Engineering is the application of a systematic, disciplined, quantifiable approach to the development, operation, and maintenance of software, and the study of these approaches; that is, the application of engineering to software...
. They cover a wide range of uses, from functional modeling to data, simulation, object-oriented analysis/design and knowledge acquisition. These "definition languages" were developed under funding from U.S. Air Force and although still most commonly used by them, as well as other military and Department of Defense (DoD) agencies, are in the public domain
Public domain
Works are in the public domain if the intellectual property rights have expired, if the intellectual property rights are forfeited, or if they are not covered by intellectual property rights at all...
.
The most-widely recognized and used components of the IDEF family are IDEF0
IDEF0
IDEF0 is a function modeling methodology for describing manufacturing functions, which offers a functional modeling language for the analysis, development, reengineering, and integration of information systems; business processes; or software engineering analysis.IDEF0 is part of the IDEF family...
, a functional modeling language building on SADT
Structured Analysis and Design Technique
Structured Analysis and Design Technique is a software engineering methodology for describing systems as a hierarchy of functions.- Overview :...
, and IDEF1X
IDEF1X
IDEF1X is a data modeling language for the developing of semantic data models. IDEF1X is used to produce a graphical information model which represents the structure and semantics of information within an environment or system.IDEF1X permits the construction of semantic data models which may serve...
, which addresses information models
Data model
A data model in software engineering is an abstract model, that documents and organizes the business data for communication between team members and is used as a plan for developing applications, specifically how data is stored and accessed....
and database design
Database design
Database design is the process of producing a detailed data model of a database. This logical data model contains all the needed logical and physical design choices and physical storage parameters needed to generate a design in a Data Definition Language, which can then be used to create a database...
issues.
Overview on IDEF Methods
Eventually the IDEF methods have been defined up to IDEF14:- IDEF0IDEF0IDEF0 is a function modeling methodology for describing manufacturing functions, which offers a functional modeling language for the analysis, development, reengineering, and integration of information systems; business processes; or software engineering analysis.IDEF0 is part of the IDEF family...
: Function modeling - IDEF1 : Information Modeling
- IDEF1XIDEF1XIDEF1X is a data modeling language for the developing of semantic data models. IDEF1X is used to produce a graphical information model which represents the structure and semantics of information within an environment or system.IDEF1X permits the construction of semantic data models which may serve...
: Data Modeling - IDEF2 : Simulation Model Design
- IDEF3IDEF3IDEF3, officially named a Integrated DEFinition for Process Description Capture Method, is a business process modelling method complementary to IDEF0...
: Process Description Capture - IDEF4IDEF4IDEF4, officially named Integrated DEFinition for Object-Oriented Design, is an object-oriented design modeling language for the design of component-based client/server systems. It has been designed to support smooth transition from the application domain and requirements analysis models to the...
: Object-Oriented Design - IDEF5IDEF5IDEF5 is a software engineering method to develop and maintain usable, accurate, domain ontologies...
: Ontology Description Capture - IDEF6IDEF6IDEF6 or Integrated Definition for Design Rationale Capture is a method to facilitate the acquisition, representation, and manipulation of the design rationale used in the development of enterprise systems. This method that wants to define the motives that drive the decision-making process is still...
: Design Rationale Capture - IDEF7 : Information System Auditing
- IDEF8 : User Interface Modeling
- IDEF9 : Business Constraint Discovery
- IDEF10 : Implementation Architecture Modeling
- IDEF11 : Information Artifact Modeling
- IDEF12 : Organization Modeling
- IDEF13 : Three Schema Mapping Design
- IDEF14 : Network Design
In 1995 only the IDEF0
IDEF0
IDEF0 is a function modeling methodology for describing manufacturing functions, which offers a functional modeling language for the analysis, development, reengineering, and integration of information systems; business processes; or software engineering analysis.IDEF0 is part of the IDEF family...
, IDEF1X
IDEF1X
IDEF1X is a data modeling language for the developing of semantic data models. IDEF1X is used to produce a graphical information model which represents the structure and semantics of information within an environment or system.IDEF1X permits the construction of semantic data models which may serve...
, IDEF2, IDEF3
IDEF3
IDEF3, officially named a Integrated DEFinition for Process Description Capture Method, is a business process modelling method complementary to IDEF0...
and IDEF4
IDEF4
IDEF4, officially named Integrated DEFinition for Object-Oriented Design, is an object-oriented design modeling language for the design of component-based client/server systems. It has been designed to support smooth transition from the application domain and requirements analysis models to the...
had been developed in full. Some of the other IDEF concepts had some prelimary design. Some of the last efforts were new IDEF developments in 1995 toward establishing reliable methods for business constraint discovery IDEF9, design rationale capture IDEF6
IDEF6
IDEF6 or Integrated Definition for Design Rationale Capture is a method to facilitate the acquisition, representation, and manipulation of the design rationale used in the development of enterprise systems. This method that wants to define the motives that drive the decision-making process is still...
, human system, interaction design IDEF8, and network design IDEF14.
The methods IDEF7, IDEF10, IDEF11, IDEF 12 and IDEF13 haven't been developed any further than their initial definition.
History
IDEF originally stood for ICAMIntegrated Computer-aided manufacturing
Integrated Computer-Aided Manufacturing is a US Air Force program to develop tools, techniques, and processes to support manufacturing integration and has influenced the computer-integrated manufacturing and computer-aided manufacturing project efforts of many companies.The ICAM program was...
Definition, initiated in the 1970s at the US Air Force Materials Laboratory, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio by Dennis E. Wisnosky
Dennis E. Wisnosky
Dennis E. Wisnosky is an American consultant, writer and currently Chief Architect and Chief Technical Officer of the US DoD Business Mission Area within the Office of Business Transformation...
, Dan L. Shunk and others. and completed in the 1980s. IDEF was a product of the Integrated Computer-Aided Manufacturing
Integrated Computer-aided manufacturing
Integrated Computer-Aided Manufacturing is a US Air Force program to develop tools, techniques, and processes to support manufacturing integration and has influenced the computer-integrated manufacturing and computer-aided manufacturing project efforts of many companies.The ICAM program was...
(ICAM
ICAM
ICAM is short for "I couldn't agree more" - also see list of internet slangIt may also refer to:* Integrated Computer-Aided Manufacturing* Intercellular adhesion molecule* Institute for Complex Adaptive Matter...
) initiative of the United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
. The IEEE
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers is a non-profit professional association headquartered in New York City that is dedicated to advancing technological innovation and excellence...
recast the IDEF abbreviation as "Integration DEFinition."
The specific projects that produced IDEF were ICAM project priorities 111 and 112 (later renumbered 1102). The subsequent Integrated Information Support System (IISS) project priorities 6201, 6202, and 6203 attempted to create an information processing
Information processing
Information processing is the change of information in any manner detectable by an observer. As such, it is a process which describes everything which happens in the universe, from the falling of a rock to the printing of a text file from a digital computer system...
environment that could be run in heterogeneous physical computing environments. Further development of IDEF occurred under those projects as a result of the experience gained from applications of the new modeling techniques. The intent of the IISS efforts was to create 'generic subsystems' that could be used by a large number of collaborating enterprises, such as U.S. Defense contractor
Defense contractor
A defense contractor is a business organization or individual that provides products or services to a military department of a government. Products typically include military aircraft, ships, vehicles, weaponry, and electronic systems...
s and the armed forces of friendly nations.
At the time of the ICAM 1102 effort there were numerous, mostly incompatible, data model
Data model
A data model in software engineering is an abstract model, that documents and organizes the business data for communication between team members and is used as a plan for developing applications, specifically how data is stored and accessed....
methods for storing computer data — Sequential
Sequential access
In computer science, sequential access means that a group of elements is accessed in a predetermined, ordered sequence. Sequential access is sometimes the only way of accessing the data, for example if it is on a tape...
(VSAM), Hierarchical
Hierarchical model
A hierarchical database model is a data model in which the data is organized into a tree-like structure. The structure allows representing information using parent/child relationships: each parent can have many children, but each child has only one parent...
(IMS
Information Management System
IBM Information Management System is a joint hierarchical database and information management system with extensive transaction processing capabilities.- History :...
), Network
Network model
The network model is a database model conceived as a flexible way of representing objects and their relationships. Its distinguishing feature is that the schema, viewed as a graph in which object types are nodes and relationship types are arcs, is not restricted to being a hierarchy or lattice.The...
(Cincom
Cincom
Cincom Systems is a privately held, multinational, computer technology corporation founded in 1968 by Tom Nies, Tom Richley and Claude Bogardus....
's TOTAL and CODASYL
CODASYL
CODASYL is an acronym for "Conference on Data Systems Languages". This was a consortium formed in 1959 to guide the development of a standard programming language that could be used on many computers...
, and Cullinet
Cullinet
Cullinet was a software company whose products included the database management system IDMS and the integrated software package Goldengate. In 1989, the company was bought by Computer Associates...
's IDMS
IDMS
IDMS is primarily a network database management system for mainframes. It was first developed at B.F. Goodrich and later marketed by Cullinane Database Systems...
). The relational data model was just emerging as a promising way of thinking about structuring data for easy, efficient, and accurate access. Relational Database Management System
Relational database management system
A relational database management system is a database management system that is based on the relational model as introduced by E. F. Codd. Most popular databases currently in use are based on the relational database model....
s had not yet emerged as a general standard for data management.
The ICAM program office deemed it valuable to create a "neutral" way of describing the data content of large-scale systems. The emerging academic literature suggested that methods were needed to process data independently
Data independence
Data independence is the type of data transparency that matters for a centralized DBMS. It refers to the immunity of user applications to make changes in the definition and organization of data....
of the way it was physically stored
Data structure
In computer science, a data structure is a particular way of storing and organizing data in a computer so that it can be used efficiently.Different kinds of data structures are suited to different kinds of applications, and some are highly specialized to specific tasks...
. Thus the IDEF1 language was created to allow a neutral description of data structures that could be applied regardless of the storage method or file access method.
IDEF1 was developed under ICAM program priority 1102 by Dr Robert R. Brown of the Hughes Aircraft Company, under contract to SofTech, Inc.
SofTech, Inc.
SofTech, Inc., , developer of ProductCenter, the company's PDM/PLM solution. WTC was one of the earliest PDM/PLM providers in the industry, having delivered PLM software products beginning with its first software product CMS in the early 1990s, along with many technology firsts, including the...
Dr Brown had previously been responsible for the development of IMS
Information Management System
IBM Information Management System is a joint hierarchical database and information management system with extensive transaction processing capabilities.- History :...
while working at Rockwell International
Rockwell International
Rockwell International was a major American manufacturing conglomerate in the latter half of the 20th century, involved in aircraft, the space industry, both defense-oriented and commercial electronics, automotive and truck components, printing presses, valves and meters, and industrial automation....
. Rockwell chose not to pursue IMS as a marketable product but IBM, which had served as a support contractor during development, subsequently took over the product and was successful in further developing it for market. Dr Brown credits his Hughes' colleague Mr Timothy Ramey as the inventor of IDEF1 as a viable formalism for modeling information structures. The two Hughes' researchers built on ideas from and interactions with many luminaries in the field at the time. In particular, IDEF1 draws on the following techniques:
- the Evolving Natural Language Information Model (ENALIM) technique of Dr G. M. Nijssen (Control Data CorporationControl Data CorporationControl Data Corporation was a supercomputer firm. For most of the 1960s, it built the fastest computers in the world by far, only losing that crown in the 1970s after Seymour Cray left the company to found Cray Research, Inc....
) — this technique is now more widely known as NIAM or the Object-Role Model ORMOrmOrm became an Anglo-Saxon personal name during period of the Danelaw...
; - the network data structures technique, popularly called the CODASYLCODASYLCODASYL is an acronym for "Conference on Data Systems Languages". This was a consortium formed in 1959 to guide the development of a standard programming language that could be used on many computers...
approach, of Dr Charles BachmanCharles BachmanCharles William "Charlie" Bachman is an American computer scientist, who spent his entire career as an industrial researcher rather than in academia...
(Honeywell Information Systems); - the hierarchical data management technique, implemented in IBM's IMS data management system, developed by Dr R. R. BrownR. R. Brown-External links:...
(Rockwell InternationalRockwell InternationalRockwell International was a major American manufacturing conglomerate in the latter half of the 20th century, involved in aircraft, the space industry, both defense-oriented and commercial electronics, automotive and truck components, printing presses, valves and meters, and industrial automation....
); - the relational approach to data of Dr E. F. Codd (IBMIBMInternational Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
); - The Entity-Relationship ApproachEntity-relationship modelIn software engineering, an entity-relationship model is an abstract and conceptual representation of data. Entity-relationship modeling is a database modeling method, used to produce a type of conceptual schema or semantic data model of a system, often a relational database, and its requirements...
(E-R) of Dr Peter ChenPeter ChenDr. Peter Pin-Shan Chen is an American computer scientist and Professor of Computer Science at Louisiana State University, who is known for the development of Entity-Relationship Modeling in 1976.- Biography :...
(UCLA).
The effort to develop IDEF1 resulted in both a new method for information modeling and an example of its use in the form of a "reference information model of manufacturing." This latter artifact was developed by D. S. Coleman of the D. Appleton Company (DACOM) acting as a sub-contractor to Hughes and under the direction of Mr Ramey. Personnel at DACOM became quite expert at IDEF1 modeling and subsequently produced a training course and accompanying materials for the IDEF1 modeling technique.
Experience with IDEF1 revealed that the translation of information requirements into database designs was more difficult than had originally been anticipated. The most beneficial value of the IDEF1 information modeling technique was its ability to represent data independent of how those data were to be stored and used. It provided data modelers and data analysts with a way to represent data requirements during the requirements-gathering process. This allowed designers to decide which DBMS to use after the nature of the data requirements was understood and thus reduced the "misfit" between data requirements and the capabilities and limitations of the DBMS. The translation of IDEF1 models to database designs, however, proved to be difficult.
IDEF0
Structured Analysis and Design Technique
Structured Analysis and Design Technique is a software engineering methodology for describing systems as a hierarchy of functions.- Overview :...
(SADT) developed by Douglas T. Ross
Douglas T. Ross
Douglas Taylor Ross was an American computer scientist pioneer, and Chairman of SofTech, Inc.. He is most famous for originating the term CAD for computer-aided design, and is consider to be the father of Automatically Programmed Tools a language to drive numerically controlled manufacturing.-...
and SofTech, Inc.
SofTech, Inc.
SofTech, Inc., , developer of ProductCenter, the company's PDM/PLM solution. WTC was one of the earliest PDM/PLM providers in the industry, having delivered PLM software products beginning with its first software product CMS in the early 1990s, along with many technology firsts, including the...
. In its original form, IDEF0 includes both a definition of a graphical modeling language (syntax
Syntax
In linguistics, syntax is the study of the principles and rules for constructing phrases and sentences in natural languages....
and semantics
Semantics
Semantics is the study of meaning. It focuses on the relation between signifiers, such as words, phrases, signs and symbols, and what they stand for, their denotata....
) and a description of a comprehensive methodology for developing models. The US Air Force commissioned the SADT developers to develop a function model
Function model
A function model or functional model in systems engineering and software engineering is a structured representation of the functions within the modeled system or subject area....
method for analyzing and communicating the functional perspective of a system. IDEF0 should assist in organizing system analysis and promote effective communication between the analyst and the customer through simplified graphical devices.
IDEF1X
Data modeling
Data modeling in software engineering is the process of creating a data model for an information system by applying formal data modeling techniques.- Overview :...
enhancement requirements that were identified in the IISS-6202 project, a sub-contractor, DACOM, obtained a license to the Logical Database Design Technique (LDDT) and its supporting software (ADAM). LDDT had been developed in 1982 by Robert G. Brown of The Database Design Group entirely outside the IDEF program and with no knowledge of IDEF1. LDDT combined elements of the relational data model, the E-R model, and generalization in a way specifically intended to support data modeling and the transformation of the data models into database designs. The graphic syntax of LDDT differed from that of IDEF1 and, more importantly, LDDT contained interrelated modeling concepts not present in IDEF1. Mary E. Loomis wrote a concise summary of the syntax and semantics of a substantial subset of LDDT, using terminology compatible with IDEF1 wherever possible. DACOM labeled the result IDEF1X
IDEF1X
IDEF1X is a data modeling language for the developing of semantic data models. IDEF1X is used to produce a graphical information model which represents the structure and semantics of information within an environment or system.IDEF1X permits the construction of semantic data models which may serve...
and supplied it to the ICAM program.
Because the IDEF program was funded by the government, the techniques are in the public domain
Public domain
Works are in the public domain if the intellectual property rights have expired, if the intellectual property rights are forfeited, or if they are not covered by intellectual property rights at all...
. In addition to the ADAM software, sold by DACOM under the name Leverage, a number of CASE
Computer-aided software engineering
Computer-aided software engineering is the scientific application of a set of tools and methods to a software system which is meant to result in high-quality, defect-free, and maintainable software products...
tools, such as ERwin
CA ERwin Data Modeler
CA ERwin Data Modeler is a software tool for data modeling of custom developed information systems, including databases of transactional systems and data marts...
, use IDEF1X
IDEF1X
IDEF1X is a data modeling language for the developing of semantic data models. IDEF1X is used to produce a graphical information model which represents the structure and semantics of information within an environment or system.IDEF1X permits the construction of semantic data models which may serve...
as their representation technique for data modeling.
The IISS projects actually produced working prototypes of an information processing environment that would run in heterogeneous computing environments. Current advancements in such techniques as Java
Java (programming language)
Java is a programming language originally developed by James Gosling at Sun Microsystems and released in 1995 as a core component of Sun Microsystems' Java platform. The language derives much of its syntax from C and C++ but has a simpler object model and fewer low-level facilities...
and JDBC are now achieving the goals of ubiquity and versatility across computing environments which was first demonstrated by IISS.
IDEF2 and IDEF3
Integrated Computer-aided manufacturing
Integrated Computer-Aided Manufacturing is a US Air Force program to develop tools, techniques, and processes to support manufacturing integration and has influenced the computer-integrated manufacturing and computer-aided manufacturing project efforts of many companies.The ICAM program was...
(ICAM) Program needed a simulation modeling tool, the resulting IDEF2 was a method for representing the time varying behavior of resources in a manufacturing system, providing a framework for specification of math model based simulations. It was the intent of the methodology program within ICAM
Integrated Computer-aided manufacturing
Integrated Computer-Aided Manufacturing is a US Air Force program to develop tools, techniques, and processes to support manufacturing integration and has influenced the computer-integrated manufacturing and computer-aided manufacturing project efforts of many companies.The ICAM program was...
to rectify this situation but limitation of funding did not allow this to happen. As a result, the lack of a method which would support the structuring of descriptions of the user view of a system has been a major shortcoming of the IDEF system. The basic problem from a methodology point of view is the need to distinguish between a description of what a system (existing or proposed) is supposed to do and a representative simulation model that will predict what a system will do. The latter was the focus of IDEF2, the former is the focus of IDEF3
IDEF3
IDEF3, officially named a Integrated DEFinition for Process Description Capture Method, is a business process modelling method complementary to IDEF0...
.
IDEF4
IDEF4
IDEF4, officially named Integrated DEFinition for Object-Oriented Design, is an object-oriented design modeling language for the design of component-based client/server systems. It has been designed to support smooth transition from the application domain and requirements analysis models to the...
came from the recognition that the modularity, maintainability and code reusability that results from the object-oriented programming
Object-oriented programming
Object-oriented programming is a programming paradigm using "objects" – data structures consisting of data fields and methods together with their interactions – to design applications and computer programs. Programming techniques may include features such as data abstraction,...
paradigm can be realized in traditional data processing
Data processing
Computer data processing is any process that a computer program does to enter data and summarise, analyse or otherwise convert data into usable information. The process may be automated and run on a computer. It involves recording, analysing, sorting, summarising, calculating, disseminating and...
applications. The proven ability of the object-oriented programming paradigm to support data level integration in large complex distributed systems is also a major factor in the widespread interest in this technology from the traditional data processing community.
IDEF4
IDEF4
IDEF4, officially named Integrated DEFinition for Object-Oriented Design, is an object-oriented design modeling language for the design of component-based client/server systems. It has been designed to support smooth transition from the application domain and requirements analysis models to the...
was developed as a design tool for software designers who use object-oriented languages such as the Common Lisp Object System, Flavors, Smalltalk
Smalltalk
Smalltalk is an object-oriented, dynamically typed, reflective programming language. Smalltalk was created as the language to underpin the "new world" of computing exemplified by "human–computer symbiosis." It was designed and created in part for educational use, more so for constructionist...
, Objective-C
Objective-C
Objective-C is a reflective, object-oriented programming language that adds Smalltalk-style messaging to the C programming language.Today, it is used primarily on Apple's Mac OS X and iOS: two environments derived from the OpenStep standard, though not compliant with it...
, C++
C++
C++ is a statically typed, free-form, multi-paradigm, compiled, general-purpose programming language. It is regarded as an intermediate-level language, as it comprises a combination of both high-level and low-level language features. It was developed by Bjarne Stroustrup starting in 1979 at Bell...
, and others. Since effective usage of the object-oriented paradigm requires a different thought process than used with conventional procedural or database languages, standard methodologies such as structure chart
Structure chart
A Structure Chart in software engineering and organizational theory, is a chart which shows the breakdown of a system to its lowest manageable levels. They are used in structured programming to arrange program modules into a tree. Each module is represented by a box, which contains the module's name...
s, data flow diagram
Data flow diagram
A data flow diagram is a graphical representation of the "flow" of data through an information system, modelling its process aspects. Often they are a preliminary step used to create an overview of the system which can later be elaborated...
s, and traditional data design model
Database model
A database model is the theoretical foundation of a database and fundamentally determines in which manner data can be stored, organized, and manipulated in a database system. It thereby defines the infrastructure offered by a particular database system...
s (hierarchical, relational, and network) are not sufficient. IDEF4 seeks to provide the necessary facilities to support the object-oriented design decision making process.
IDEF5
IDEF5
IDEF5 is a software engineering method to develop and maintain usable, accurate, domain ontologies...
, or Integrated Definition for Ontology Description Capture Method, is a software engineering method to develop and maintain usable, accurate, domain ontologies
Ontology (computer science)
In computer science and information science, an ontology formally represents knowledge as a set of concepts within a domain, and the relationships between those concepts. It can be used to reason about the entities within that domain and may be used to describe the domain.In theory, an ontology is...
. In the field of computer science ontologies are used to capture the concept
Concept
The word concept is used in ordinary language as well as in almost all academic disciplines. Particularly in philosophy, psychology and cognitive sciences the term is much used and much discussed. WordNet defines concept: "conception, construct ". However, the meaning of the term concept is much...
and object
Object
Object may refer to:* Object , a thing, being or concept** Entity, something that is tangible and within the grasp of the senses* As used in object relations theories of psychoanalysis, that to which a subject relates....
s in a specific domain
Domain analysis
In software engineering, domain analysis, or product line analysis, is the process of analyzing related software systems in a domain to find their common and variable parts. It is a model of wider business context for the system. The term was coined in the early 1980s by James Neighbors. Domain...
, along with associated relationships and meanings. In addition, ontology capture helps coordinate projects by standardizing terminology
Terminology
Terminology is the study of terms and their use. Terms are words and compound words that in specific contexts are given specific meanings, meanings that may deviate from the meaning the same words have in other contexts and in everyday language. The discipline Terminology studies among other...
and creates opportunities for information
Information
Information in its most restricted technical sense is a message or collection of messages that consists of an ordered sequence of symbols, or it is the meaning that can be interpreted from such a message or collection of messages. Information can be recorded or transmitted. It can be recorded as...
reuse. The IDEF5 Ontology Capture Method has been developed to reliably construct ontologies in a way that closely reflects human understanding
Understanding
Understanding is a psychological process related to an abstract or physical object, such as a person, situation, or message whereby one is able to think about it and use concepts to deal adequately with that object....
of the specific domain.
In the IDEF5 method, an ontology is constructed by capturing the content of certain assertions about real-world objects, their properties and their interrelationships, and representing that content in an intuitive and natural form. The IDEF5 method has three main components: A graphical language to support conceptual ontology analysis, a structured text language for detailed ontology characterization, and a systematic procedure that provides guidelines for effective ontology capture.
IDEF6
IDEF6
IDEF6 or Integrated Definition for Design Rationale Capture is a method to facilitate the acquisition, representation, and manipulation of the design rationale used in the development of enterprise systems. This method that wants to define the motives that drive the decision-making process is still...
, or Integrated Definition for Design Rationale Capture, is a method to facilitate the acquisition, representation, and manipulation of the design rationale
Design Rationale
A Design Rationale is an explicit documentation of the reasons behind decisions made when designing a system or artifact. As initially developed by W.R...
used in the development of enterprise systems. Rationale is the reason, justification, underlying motivation, or excuse that moved the designer to select a particular strategy or design feature. More simply, rationale is interpreted as the answer to the question, “Why is this design being done in this manner?” Most design methods focus on the what the design is (i.e. on the final product, rather than why the design is the way it is).
IDEF6 will be a method that possesses the conceptual resources and linguistic capabilities needed (i) to represent the nature and structure of the information that constitutes design rationale within a given system, and (ii)
to associate that rationale with design specifications, models, and documentation for the system. IDEF6 is applicable to all phases of the information system development process, from initial conceptualization through both preliminary and detailed design activities. To the extent that detailed design decisions for software systems are
relegated to the coding phase, the IDEF6 technique should be usable during the software construction process as well.
IDEF8
IDEF8, or Integrated Definition for Human-System Interaction Design, is a method for producing high-quality designs of interactions between users and the systems they operate. Systems are characterized as a collection of objects that perform functions to accomplish a particular goal. The system with which the user interacts can be any system, not necessarily a computer program. Human-system interactions are designed at three levels of specification within the IDEF8 method. The first level defines the philosophy of system operation and produces a set of models and textual descriptions of overall system processes. The second level of design specifies role-centered scenarios of system use. The third level of IDEF8 design is for human-system design detailing. At this level of design, IDEF8 provides a library of metaphors to help users and designers specify the desired behavior in terms of other objects whose behavior is more familiar. Metaphors provide a model of abstract concepts in terms of familiar, concrete objects and experiences.IDEF9
IDEF14
IDEF14, or Integrated Definition for Network Design Method, is a method that targets the modeling and design of computerComputer network
A computer network, often simply referred to as a network, is a collection of hardware components and computers interconnected by communication channels that allow sharing of resources and information....
and communication networks. It can be used to model existing ("as is") or envisioned ("to be") networks. It helps the network designer to investigate potential network designs and to document design rationale. The fundamental goals of the IDEF14 research project developed from a perceived need for good network designs that can be implemented quickly and accurately.
See also
- Data modelingData modelingData modeling in software engineering is the process of creating a data model for an information system by applying formal data modeling techniques.- Overview :...
- Entity-relationship modelEntity-relationship modelIn software engineering, an entity-relationship model is an abstract and conceptual representation of data. Entity-relationship modeling is a database modeling method, used to produce a type of conceptual schema or semantic data model of a system, often a relational database, and its requirements...
- Modeling languageModeling languageA modeling language is any artificial language that can be used to express information or knowledge or systems in a structure that is defined by a consistent set of rules...
- Relational modelRelational modelThe relational model for database management is a database model based on first-order predicate logic, first formulated and proposed in 1969 by Edgar F...
- Structured Analysis and Design TechniqueStructured Analysis and Design TechniqueStructured Analysis and Design Technique is a software engineering methodology for describing systems as a hierarchy of functions.- Overview :...
Further reading
- Ovidiu S. Noran (2000). Business Modelling: UML vs. IDEF Paper Griffh University
External links
- Integrated DEFinition Methods
- Data Modeling
- The IDEF Process Modeling Methodology by Robert P. Hanrahan 1995