Information about the ISO/IEC 24744 standard
Software Engineering Metamodel for Development Methodologies
The Software Engineering Metamodel for Development Methodologies (SEMDM) provides a comprehensive metamodel for all the concepts necessary for modelling and creating methodologies. It can be used to generate and underpin a unique methodology or used in a method engineering context to create endeavour-specific methodologies. In addition, it allows for the enactment of those methodologies on real projects, thus solving many of the problems founds in previous approaches such as SPEM (from the OMG). In using powertypes as its underpinning conceptual architecture, it deviates from the OMG instantiation-linked multi-layer architecture (usually denoted as M0, M1, M2 and M3 levels) replacing this with an architecture aligned with practice. Three layers are used in 24744: endeavour (where people work), method (where practices are determined) and metamodel (where practices are formally defined).
Since this is an ISO standard, it can only be obtained from ISO directly or from your local national standards body. However, there have been some research papers published in the lead up to the ISO publication that should provide some of the background to interested parties. These are:
"A comparison of four process metamodels and the creation of a new generic standard" by B. Henderson-Sellers and C. Gonzalez-Perez, 2005, Information and Software Technology, 47(1), 49-65
"An ontology for software development methodologies and endeavours" by C. Gonzalez-Perez and B. Henderson-Sellers, 2006, Chapter 4 in Ontologies in Software Engineering and Software Technology, Springer, 123-152
"On the east of extending a powertype-based methodology metamodel" by C. Gonzalez-Perez and B. Henderson-Sellers, 2006, Metamodelling and Ontologies. Proceedings of the Second Workshop on Metamodelling, WoMM2006, LNI Vol 96, 11-25
Other papers on metamodelling, object-orientation and methodologies which led up to this powertype-based metamodelling work can be found at http://www.open.org.au (publications section)
Authorised by: Brian Henderson-Sellers, Faculty of Information Technology
Last Update: 17/3/07
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