Supporting Situational Method Engineering with ISO/IEC 24744 and the Work Product Pool Approach

The advantages of situational method engineering (SME) as an approach to the development, specification and application of methods are significant. However, taking this approach into practice in real-world settings is often a daunting task, because the necessary infrastructure and superstructure are not currently available. By infrastructure, we mean the underpinning theoretical and technological foundations on which SME is based; in this regard, this paper explains how the ISO/IEC 24744 metamodel solves many long-standing problems in methodology specification and enactment that other approaches, such as OMG’s SPEM, cannot. By superstructure, we mean the exploitation mechanisms, often in the form of tools and decision procedures, that allow individuals and organisations to obtain value out of SME during their daily activities. Without these, SME is often seen as a purely theoretical exercise with little practical purpose. In this regard, we this paper also introduces the work product pool approach, which departs from the conventional view that methodologies must be described in a process-centric fashion to focus on a product-centric worldview, thus providing teams the capability to adopt an opportunistic and people-oriented setting in which to conduct their work.