The CPM provides methods and representations for analysing a process
domain using a viewpoint-based, requirements engineering
approach. This aids in producing an initial specification of the
domain which can be translated to the Common Process Language
(CPL). The methodology is supported by the CPM Toolset, a HARDY-based
tool for creating CPM specifications and running rule-based (CLIPS)
checks.
Once the CPM toolset has been installed, it can be launched from the
control panel or executed from a command prompt in the installed
directory: "./cpm". A set of representations for a
domain are all connected to a central HARDY index file (.ind). Figure
1 shows the CPM toolset windows during an edit of one of the enclosed
demos.
Figure 1 - The CPM toolset
The CPM toolset can be used to build the intermediate specifications
which are outlined in the Common Process Methodology (CPM). See the
"{target dir}/docs/papers/" directory for papers describing the CPM
and use of the CPM toolset. The final series of combined thread
diagrams can then be exported to CPL using the "Tools|Export to CPL"
menu option in the top-level viewpoint bubble diagram.
- Downloading and Installing Hardy
The main requirement for using the CPM toolset is having a copy of
Hardy, a hypertext-based diagramming tool for Suns (Open Look, Motif)
and PCs. A demonstration version of Hardy is downloadable by anyone. A
full working version of Hardy is available free of charge for research
purposes. Commercial use of Hardy is negotiable. See:
http://www.aiai.ed.ac.uk/~hardy/hardy/hardy.html for info on
obtaining a copy of Hardy.
Once hardy has been downloaded and installed, the diagram definitions
for CPM (in "{target dir}/cpm-1.0/*.def") must be loaded. See the
Hardy Diagram Type Manager under "Tools|Show Diagram Type
Manager". The cpm command (in "{target dir}/cpm") may need to be
modified for different platforms (e.g. hardy_motif => hardy for
Windows 95/NT).
The source for CPM is loaded by the built in CLIPS interpreter when
the toolset is launched. See the clips source files in "{target
dir}/cpm-1.0/*.clp".
Last updated 7 October 1998
by Steve Polyak
Common Process Methodology (CPM)