The integration of software tools used in an engineering process is a problem that arises frequently in large-scale engineering projects. Traditional approaches are insufficient for complex engineering tools and processes. The solution must also account for the evolution of the system, as tools and processes change over time.

Every large-scale project on computer-based systems that uses software-based engineering tools has to face the problem of tool integration. Each of these tools is usually a highly specialized package that contributes to a crucial step in the engineering process. While vendors may offer tool suites, the tools used in practice are very rarely integrated across the engineering process. In many cases, they were simply not designed with easy integration in mind.

Solving the integration problem is not easy. The diversity of tools, the variations in their method of user interactions, and differences in file formats makes the task formidable. However, the potential benefits are also great: using information captured in one tool in the context of another tool saves valuable, but often uninteresting, effort. In this project solutions are used which approach the integration issue from a model-based viewpoint.

Currently, access to detailed information about this project is limited to project-related personnel.

This project received support from the DARPA Evolutionary Design of Complex Software research program. Some tool integration papers are available for on-line viewing or download from the ISIS Publications page.

PI: Gabor Karsai