FlowLynx proposes development of a web-based Next Generation Synthesis Environment to improve the speed and accuracy of software engineering tools and methodologies. This environment will support project stakeholder collaboration, automation, VV&A, and code to requirements tracing. Our approach includes mapping source code and domain knowledge into and between three levels of Meta Languages: Process Oriented, Domain Specific and Software Systems Requirements. These Meta Languages will be Extensible Meta-Languages (XMLs) and, by including Artificial Intelligence interfaces, form a basis for Intelligent Synthesis Environments. The system will enable the capture, integration, collection, and tracking of logic (from source code) and fuzzy knowledge (from the domain) to generate a software knowledge base. This knowledge base will contain all the information to deduce what the software does, how it does it, and ultimately help answer "why it does it" - the system requirements. "Backing out" requirements from the product source code and domain enables one to consider a comparison with the original software system requirements. Knowledge based traceability will reveal any misconceptions made during the software life cycle. This approach will enable an organization to continually evaluate its life-cycle management process in attaining more accurate life-cycle requirements and cost data early in the design phase.
Potential Commercial Applications:The primary commercial application will be in advanced source code maintenance, reuse, collaboration and specification. Aerospace firms have a tremendous amount of source code associated with each project, which requires significant monitoring, control analysis and can benefit from better, web-based, collaboration. Similarly, hardware and software engineering firms are constantly producing embedded source code for their commercial and customized products and can benefit from advanced collaboration of software system information.
