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Eclipse process framework

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The Eclipse Process Framework (EPF) is an open source project that is managed by the Eclipse Foundation. It lies under the top-level Eclipse Technology Project. It has two goals:

  • To provide an extensible framework and exemplary tools for software process engineering - method and process authoring, library management, configuring and publishing a process.
  • To provide exemplary and extensible process content for a range of software development and management processes supporting iterative, agile, and incremental development, and applicable to a broad set of development platforms and applications. For instance, EPF provides the OpenUP/Basic, an agile software development process optimized for small projects.

How does it work ?

By using EPF Composer you can create your own Software development process by structuring it in one specific way using a predefined schema. This schema is an evolution of the SPEM 1.1 OMG specification referred to as the Unified Method Architecture (UMA). Major parts of UMA went into the recently adopted revision of SPEM, SPEM 2.014. EPF is aiming to fully support the final SPEM 2.0 in the near future. The UMA and SPEM schemata support the organization of large amounts of descriptions for development methods and processes. Such method content and processes do not have to be limited to software engineering, but can also cover other design and engineering disciplines, such as mechanical engineering, business transformation, sales cycles, and so on.

Issues to Resolve

The tool is now mature but the generation of open sourced process plug-ins remains problematic as adoption of the tool still requires substantial work in process authoring. IBM has some proprietory plugins available for its Rational Method Composer but they are based upon the proprietory RUP process model. The small opensource agile models available don't scale well to large programs. Many IEEE/ISO/SAE/CMMI and other standards models have not been modelled. The potential here is vast if IBM markets EPF/RMC to the standards organisations who already sell representations of their standards.

Static page generation is useful, as a reference site, but additional effort has to occur 1) to move towards process orchestration (based upon SPEM models) and 2) provision of training resources (potentially by including SCORM/IMS modes for export). Process training, within organisations, is of paramount concern and the amount of rework to push EPF output into SCORM/IMS ready structures for presentation in an eLearning environments (on top of the initial process authoring effort) is prohibitive. Model transformation technology may help here.


See also

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