THIS POSTER SESSION WAS PRESENTED AT THE 1995 CAUSE ANNUAL CONFERENCE. IT IS PART OF THE ONLINE PROCEEDINGS OF THAT CONFERENCE. PERMISSION TO COPY OR DISSEMINATE ALL OR PART OF THIS MATERIAL IS GRANTED PROVIDED THAT THE COPIES ARE NOT MADE OR DISTRIBUTED FOR COMMERCIAL ADVANTAGE. TO COPY OR DISSEMINATE OTHERWISE, OR TO REPUBLISH IN ANY FORM, REQUIRES WRITTEN PERMISSION FROM THE AUTHOR AND CAUSE. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: CAUSE, 4840 PEARL EAST CIRCLE, SUITE 302E, BOULDER, CO 80301; 303-449-4430; E-MAIL INFO@CAUSE.COLORADO.EDU. "OBJECT THINK" A STEP TOWARD OBJECT-ORIENTED IMPLEMENTATION Presented by: DePaul University Patrick Bauer, 1991, 1995 Director, Information and Application Support DePaul University 243 S. Wabash Chicago, IL 60604 Office Phone: (312) 362-8491 Fax: (312) 362-5675 (pbauer@wppost.depaul.edu) Harry Reisenleiter DePaul University 243 S. Wabash Chicago, IL 60604 Office Phone: (312) 362-6564 Fax: (312) 362-5675 Manager of Development Technology (hreisenl@wppost.depaul.edu) TOPICS * Background * The Beginning * Results * The Process * Today * Tomorrow * What Our Experiences May Mean to You BACKGROUND Staff * Experienced Staff; University knowledge * Some with more than 20 years, many with more than 5 years * Former Registrar in DA roll with Student Systems * Mainly Mainframe-based skills * Virtually all installed systems are mainframe-based * Human Resources/Payroll, Financial, and Alumni Development from SCT * New Director, new Manager of Development * Experienced in Object-Oriented A/D * With responsibilities for designing, implementing OO in prior employment * Experienced with leading-edge technologies * Consulted with major vendors * Held positions in advanced technology groups * Experienced in education, manufacturing, banking, retail, wholesale, aerospace * Prior employment with Fortune 50 manufacturing, Fortune 10 retail, and top aerospace companies Object Thinking * 1990 - Large, midwestern bank * "Stop Payment" function being re-written * Challenge - How would the Bank appear on the client's desktop? * EASEL-based demonstration resulted in re-designed navigation and contents of final mainframe-based Stop Pay application * Mentoring - IS; Clients * New Methodology; custom; Object-Oriented * Wirfs-Brock; Booch; Cockburn; Taylor; Lorenz backgrounds * Information Engineering used to supplement OO design, but not as foundation * Presented process and methodology at E&Y's national R&D site * IBM's CUA '93 - part of the process * Reviewed, contributed to IBM CUA * Midwestern aerospace firm * EAP business redesign - new DTP system based on object-think THE BEGINNING * Suggestions (Mandates) from top executive * "We will be Client/Server. The mainframe is to be replaced." * "Your department must prove that you can build systems." * "Systems will be built rapidly; users will own the maintenance and production; we'll use off-the-shelf development tools - no code." * But, the challenge was heightened by * No tools * Hardware, software or database * Just beginning to bring in Microsoft Office Professional --> MS Access * No training * No money * No time RESULTS TO DATE Use of "Object Think" process enabled the staff to * Complete 4 major releases of ADvancement (in 9 months) * Proof-of-concept - Access-to-Access * Version 2 - Access-to-Oracle * Two more major and 10+ minor releases * Put Production Phone-a-Thon application in place * Completed in less than 4 weeks * More than 15 subsequent releases. * Completed smaller applications * Student Enrollment - internal training * Telephone book * Education School database * Reprographics database * HR Tracking * And more... THE PROCESS Definitions Using "Object Think" can help bridge process- oriented thinking and object mindsets. For example, translate (or use) the Object Think terms on the right for the Object terms on the left. Object-Oriented Object-Think * Inheritance * Genetics, Families, Characteristics * Encapsulation * Responsibilities, Ownership * Polymorphism * Multiple responses to a single communication * Messaging * Communicating Summary * Think Objects, talk business * Prototype on all iterations and levels * We used about three month deliverable cycles * We demanded and maintained intense user involvement * Used JAD & RRAD ("Really Rapid Application Development") * Auston-Schlier methodology database design * granular data (relationship tables), object views for query, reporting Object Thinking * People, places and things * Examples from ADvancement = Constituents, Gifts, Events, Contacts * Objects and actions * Responsibilities * Characteristics * Relationships * "A Day in the Life" * Graphics-intensive reviews * "Use Cases" * Scenarios * Walk-throughs TODAY * Staff, IT and Clients, comfortable with new techniques- (Mentoring, Mentoring) * Getting more skilled in object-based tools * New projects on horizon * Kiosk ("DePaul In-Touch") roll-out * ADvancement continues * Growing backlog of new requests * Continued migration to Client/Server TOMORROW * Architecture/Strategy includes: * "Right-Sizing", Client/Server emphasis * Tools, not "THE TOOL" * Networking and distributed functionality * Flexibility * Maintainability * New Methodology * Extensive user participation * Iterative throughout * OORA through OOAD (Object-Oriented Requirements Analysis through Object- Oriented Application Development) WHAT OUR EXPERIENCE MAY MEAN TO YOU * Mind-sets, thinking processes are most important -The benefits are here * What we did * Gradual, technology-independent approach * Understand the business * Understand how to "discover" Objects * Understand and begin using the vocabulary * Infused into environment * Technology can wait - it's not there yet anyway * Existing tools can work, with compromises * Find tools after you're solid in your approach