Object Technology

Introduction

This purpose of this section is to give a brief non technical overview of the principles of Object Technology (OT) and to highlight its importance in developing new systems and in its support of Strategic Interactive Marketing.

OT is a method of managing information that closely reflects the real world. In the real world we closely associated our bank account with the salary credits and ATM debit transactions that we make. We may have many bank and saving accounts but in many respects we view them as behaving in the same way (e.g. our CRs and DRs) and just note the difference (Premium Account requires 10 days notice). OT works in the same way, defining objects (bank accounts), associated methods (CRs and DRs), and classifies the relationships between objects (Premium Account is like a Current Account except .....). OT is a technology for implementing an Object Oriented (OO) approach.

OT has been under development for over 20 years but became more accessible with the creation of the Unified Modelling Language. UML is a graphical notation for describing user requirements that is both understandable by users and technologists. Using UML, requirements can be systematically verified and code generated or reused.

OT was first used at a low technical level, for example building the user dialogues in a Windows application. Because of this, developers working at a higher level, for example writing code to handle a Credit transaction on a bank account, have used the term Component or Business Object.

Besides being a common yet robust way of defining requirements, OT facilitates a Lego^TM approach to building systems whereby standard components can be built and reused with systems adapted and extended with minimum knock-on impact. Some components may be developed in-house and others purchased from 3rd parties, perhaps sourced over the Internet. Thus new products and services can be quickly introduced in response to market opportunities. OT is an important enabler for Strategic Interactive Marketing and its constituents of One-to-One Marketing and Mass Customisation. By assembling different components unique products and services can be assembled for individual customers. For further discussion see Component Based Development.

Further, because the components communicate by passing messages between each other, they can reside on different computers linked for instance by the Internet. Software, known as an Object Request Broker, performs the switching role. Thus different companies in a value chain can efficiently integrate their processes, yet flexibly re-form new strategic alliances as competitive opportunities present themselves. Ultimately the processes extend right into the customers computer or other interactive device such as a Interactive TV. Components will be electronically sent to the device to perform the required function (e.g. make a banking transaction). Java is a programming language that works in this way.

This industry integration can only work if there is a common view across all the particants as to how business should be conducted, what functions different components should perform, how they should perform the task (e.g. a VAT calculation), and how they interact. Various industry and supplier bodies are working to create these common views, known as architectures. Suppliers may then implement an architecture as a framework (or shell) solution that companies then purchase and complete.

For more information select from:

• Briefly, What is it?
• A Short History
• Why is all this important?
• An Insurance Example
• What are the Key Concepts and Principles?
• What are the Benefits, especially in respect of SIM?
• Requirements of an Object Technology System

To the first topic

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Other Resources on this Site

OT also supports the other SIM enablers, Business Process Re-engineering and Process Improvement, Rule Based Approach, Rules Based Systems , Component Based Development.

External Resources
 

1. Rational Software Corporation - Rational is one of the leading OT vendors. Jim Rumbaugh of Rational created the OMT method. He was later joined by Grady Booch to that led to the Unified Method, and then later still by Ivar Jacobson to create the now standard Unified Modelling Language (UML).
2. Object Management Group (OMG), a not-for-profit international organisation dedicated to maximising the portability, reusability, and interoperability of software using OT.
3. TriReme International - TriReme specialise in OO Analysis and Design, Mentoring, and Training. It is headed by Dr. Alan Wills who has recently published a book on OO development methods, which encapsulates a method called Catalysis. Catalysis is promoted as the first practical method with a sound semantics that doesn't suffer from the ambiguities of many diagram-based methods like UML.
4. Prosperity Heights Software - a US company that develops and promotes the concepts of Domain-specific Engineering (DsE). DsE develops and uses a software product family to produce a range of similar products by targeting technical expertise on expected market needs. PHS has developed a methodology to assist the process of DsE. PHS is headed by Grady H. Campbell, Jr. who is involved with the US Software Productivity Consortium and in Europe has been involved with the EU ROADS and EU SURPRISE projects.
5. Select Software Tools Plc. - The Select Enterprise Repository holds business components such as business processes, users and their use cases (transactions), user sequence diagrams (transaction dialogues), and of course objects and their properties and methods. It is based on UML and built to support the Select Perspective Methodology. Select Software are developing a Component Manager for the acquisition, storage, publication, and distribution of components.
     On the Select web site you will find some useful White Papers including:
   • The Select Perspective - Extending Rumbaugh's OMT for Client/Server Systems Development.
   • Select Component Based Development Overview.
   • Select Enterprise for Java.
6. See the full list of resources for this web site for other related SIM resources.

[Overview] [What is it?] [Short History] [Importance] [Insurance Example]
[Key Concepts and Principles] [Benefits] [OO System Requirements]

[SIM Overview] [One to One Marketing] [Mass Customisation] [Interactive Mediums] [STEP Analysis]
 [SIM Executive Summary] [SIM Report] [SIM Project] [SIM Framework] [SIM Methodology] [SIM Illustrations] [SIM Links]

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