Towards dynamic generation of knowledge-based environments for software process assistance

To provide support for the development of reliable software in a cost-effective way, software engineering environments should be based on a software process model containing explicit representations of the knowledge needed to perform a software process, being able to offer an active assistance to that process. Moreover, process models can vary to reflect specific characteristics of projects and can change dynamically, as the process occurs. To support this changing nature of software process models, the environment should have mechanisms that allow generation of process models according to project needs and dynamic modification of the models during the software process. This paper describes a software engineering environment that combines knowledge-based assistant with dynamic meta-system concepts to offer active and flexible support for software processes. The main concern is to discuss the knowledge representation issues related to this environment