Visualising the J2EE Management Model

Technology Background

The technology has been in development, in one form or another, since early 1998. The technology has evolved as part of an on-going, independent, informal programme of research, investigating the practicalities of visualising large distributed software systems in terms of their black-box component architecture using 3D graphics, and most importantly, how users of the technology can benefit from being able to see and interact with such abstract representations.

We use the term user community to refer to both the technical and non-technical users of the visualisation technology, it includes and extends beyond the various user groups within the development and business communities to include the potential customer and through to the end user of the system.

The primary aim of the technology is to provide a common understanding of a software product in the form of its black-box component-based architectural visualisation. This common understanding should be available to, and shared by, the user community from the earliest stages of development, when the component-based architecture takes shape, through to in-service support and beyond.

The technology aims to be able to adapt it's behaviour to the context within which it is used, that is to say, the dialog the technology is able to support and the information accessible via the technology should adapt to the needs of the user.

The technology aims to provide an interactive medium through which the quality of the product can be intuitively assessed.

The technology aims to compliment rather than replace existing development environments by providing an additional path through which information can be accessed and presented.