RENAISSANCE Documents Introduction Foundations Method Book Introduction The RENAISSANCE Method handbook describes a generic method for software evolution with variants which reflect the specific requirements of 3GL and 4GL evolution. Method Framework Description This report provides the rationale for and a definition of the RENAISSANCE method. The RENAISSANCE method supports the reengineering of legacy software systems, that is the transformation of valuable, but difficult to maintain, software assets towards new systems which are capable of evolving, both in the short and the long term. The introduction provides the necessary background for understanding the method. First the who, why, what and how questions are answered. This is followed by the identification of the what-to-do dilemma of legacy systems as the main problem addressed by the method. The reengineering perspective is then suggested as the solution to this problem. The next chapter introduces the RENAISSANCE framework. It starts out by contrasting the classic maintenance approach to application management with the proposed evolutionary approach. To this end a way to introduce this approach into an organisation is suggested. This is followed by a definition of the framework in terms of a domain, a paradigm and an abstract model containing generic activities. A two step process split into a what-to-do phase followed by a how-to-do phase is proposed. The first phase evaluates the existing system against technical and business goals and based on this evaluation suggests a suitable reengineering strategy. The second phase supports the implementation of the adopted strategy. The remainder of the report details the identified activities. View this report online Download the report in Adobe Acrobat 3 format The Renaissance Method Handbook This document defines the complete RENAISSANCE Method. The introduction specifies the objectives, constraints and benefits of the method. It introduces the two basic ideas behind the method: reengineering must be company and project specific and both the process and the product of reengineering must be continuously refined. The RENAISSANCE method is then presented in some detail. The method identifies generic activities, which can be decomposed and specialised to address the specific needs of its user. Activities are identified through their interface. The implementation of each activity simply describes the actions to be performed, without forcing any implementation approach. The execution of both the overall control flow and the activation of individual activities can be customised. Cooperation between actitivities is achieved by the introduction of a repository containing all the artifacts needed by the processes. Furthermore, the repository allows for an incremental approach to reengineering to be implemented. The method itself is structured into two phases: the what-to-do and the how-to-do phases. The what-to-do phase provides guidance in choosing the right reengineering strategy. The identified candidate strategies are: reengineer from the user-interface, structure, architecture or design points of view, or simply replace the legacy system with a new one. The how-to-do phase supports the implementation of the planned transformation. Download the report in Adobe Acrobat 3 format Introduction Foundations Method Book