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The object constraint language (OCL) plays an important role in the elaboration of precise models. Although OCL was designed to be both formal and simple, OCL specifications may be difficult to understand and evolve, particularly those containing complex or duplicated expressions. In this paper, we discuss how refactoring techniques can be applied in order to improve the understandability and maintainability of OCL specifications. In particular, we present several potentially bad constructions often found in OCL specifications and a collection of refactorings that can be applied to replace such constructions by better ones. We also briefly discuss how refactorings can be automated and how model regression testing can be used to increase our confidence that the semantics of an OCL specification has been preserved after manually performed refactorings.

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These days information technology (IT) is well known for the critical role it plays in earning and sustaining competitive advantage, and also for yielding a myriad of intangible benefits that are hard to quantify. If an investmentin IT is aimed at improving services in the public sector, then the chances of running into intangibles are much higher. After all, voters’ support, spontaneous media exposure, pressure-groups’ reactions, public security and people’s well-being are common concerns in the conception and deployment of government ideas and projects. This paper presents a method that facilitates the evaluation of IT investments in the public sector. The method enables public officers to maximize the appropriation of the intangible benefits yielded by the investments they make in IT

Abstract. Object Oriented (OO) languages do not guarantee that a system is flexible enough to absorb future requirements, nor that its components can be reused in other contexts. This paper presents an approach to OO design expertise reuse, which is able to detect certain constructions that compromise future expansion or modification of OO systems, and suggest their replacement by more adequate ones. Both reengineering legacy systems, and systems that are still under development are considered by the approach. A tool (OOPDTool) was developed to support the approach, comprising a knowledge base of good design constructions, that correspond to heuristics and design patterns, as well as problematic constructions (i.e., anti-patterns).

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