CASE Tool Integration and Standardization

CASE tool users are faced with the task of coordinating tools and data from a variety of sources spanning the entire software development life cycle. Despite much discussion and increased standardization activity, complete, transparent CASE tool integration is still a long way from realization. There are a number of factors which have complicated the tool integration scenario and a number of actions being taken in an attempt to resolve the problems. The implications of these concerns can be examined from the perspectives of single-vendor, multiple-vendor, operating environment, development process, and end-user integration. In addition to specific technical and methodological solutions, standards efforts are viewed as a possible path to tool integration. To date, formal efforts have done little to resolve the integration problems, but de facto standards may well become the cornerstone of future CASE tool evolution.