SAAM Pad

SAAMPAD by P.A.Schuchhard

We are testing to see if ZenPad (the Software used in Classroom 2000) can somehow be used for capturing discussions instead of lectures. In particular, we are adapting it to capture discussions concerning Software Architectures. It's use is focussed on the Software Architecture Analysis Method and the new tool is called SAAMPad (for more information on SAAM, see the Morale homepage). Examples of its potential use include creating new diagrams, changing existing diagrams and storing and retrieving software architectural information.

One of the problems that arise when capturing discussions is the non-linearity of them. It is quite normal to have several items of interest being discussed at almost the same time, jumping back and forth to highlight issues concerning them. Unlike in a classroom, where items are generally handled one by one, one item can have been the subject of a discussion several times. This makes information retrieval much harder.

Currently the following features are being added to SAAMPad: -Scenario support to guide the discussions and better support SAAM. -Importation of ACME descriptions. This allows SAAMPad to import software architectures produced by other Morale tools. -Interface for software architectural information retrieval. Since the information captured by SAAMPad is of a different type then the usual lecture information, a special tailored interface is being developed.

Ultimately, we want to use SAAMPad to be able to import a Morale generated architecture, allowing designers and engineers to discuss and make changes to the software architecture. During this discussion, important design rationale is expressed and should be captured and indexed for later retrieval.