One concern shared by all projects involved in the development, deployment and maintenance of large software-intensive systems is the choice of technology used to support software engineering processes. The selection of appropriate software engineering technology, and the effective, integrated use of this technology can play a critical role in the success of a large program. The SEI CASE Environments group helps organizations understand how to effectively select, integrate and deploy software environment technology to meet unique organizational requirements.

The group has developed expertise in a range of software environment technologies, including:

• practical approaches for adoption of CASE technology;
• "hands-on" experience with a range of CASE integration technologies;
• techniques for distributed configuration management and version control of systems;
• techniques and technologies for software maintenance, including program understanding and system visualization;
• techniques for understanding the relationship between software environment technology and software process, and for describing and automating software processes.

Systems Integration Technologies and Strategies

As CASE Environments are themselves complex software systems, we have developed expertise in:

• distributed object technology, such as the OMG's CORBA and OMA;
• heterogeneous environments, including mixes of PC and UNIX platforms;
• practical experience in the integration of COTS components;
• the selection and use of open systems standards for system integration.

In these areas of expertise, the CASE Environments group offers a number of services that can be tailored to the needs of the individual organization. Services include:

• Overviews, during which SEI personnel present general information and critical issues in an area, and identify additional support that can be provided.
• Seminars and tutorials, during which SEI personnel provide in-depth analysis and discussion of a particular topic.
• Needs assessment and strategic planning, during which SEI personnel assist an organization in defining its needs and interests relevant to a particular topic, and in developing strategic plans to address those needs.
• Consultation, were SEI personnel assist in needs assessment and strategic planning, along with the development and review of detailed plans.
• Development support, where SEI personnel assist in the execution of plans.
• Investigations of specific technologies and engineering approaches, where SEI personnel perform hands-on investigations of particular technologies (e.g., CORBA, OLE, PCTE) and of the "larger" issues of environment engineering, such as the best ways in which to automate the organization's process, and how to combine overlapping integration services.

The CASE Environments group has performed these services for a wide range of organizations and projects. Organizations with which we have worked, or plan to work with include: US DoD, I-CASE program, Motorola, NSA, AT&T, NIST Manufacturing Engineering Lab. and Computer Systems Lab., and Hughes Aircraft Corporation.