A Process Framework for Applying Situational Method Engineering (SME) on OMG's Essence

Situational method engineering (SME) is an engineering process used to construct context-specific software development methods. The advantage of SMEs is to allow software development teams to work using a context-specific or situational method, that is, a method that suits their project characteristics. A situational method comprises method parts; each part has a context description that details the appropriate situation for applying that particular method. There are several types of method parts, such as method fragment, method chunk, method component, and method service. In this research, we adopt the concept of method chunk. We also use the modified metamodel from our previous study. Although there are advantages to applying SMEs, it does require extra effort. Method chunks are not easy to find, and a different notation decreases the method chunk's interoperability. This research proposes a process framework for applying SMEs. The framework's benefits are to guide method engineers in applying SMEs and provide a reference for software engineers to develop the supporting system. This framework use Essence language as a standard for method modeling to improve the interoperability of method chunks. We also apply the concept of service-oriented in the SME process to enhance the accessibility of method chunks by providing method chunk description as a service. Following the proposed framework, method engineers can extract method chunks from existing methods, publish them at a centralized publishing system to make them available as a service, and construct situational methods from selected method chunks. Software engineers can use the proposed framework to develop the supporting system. Our framework defines the complete processes for applying SMEs in a software project. The proposed framework has been validated by using the framework in a case study and building a prototype of the supporting system. Our objective is to validate the applicability of the proposed framework as a guideline. We conclude that the proposed framework is applicable, and in the end, it can support method engineers in applying SMEs in their software projects with less effort.