1. COMPACT Web Design Approach:
A Methodology and Modelling Technique for communicating the High-Level Design of Struts Web Applications

2. The Authors Neil Axtell Liz Bacon Gill Windall
Landmark Information Group
Liz Bacon
Gill Windall
Greenwich University

3. Who are Landmark?
Britain's leading provider of digital mapping, land use, planning and environmental information.
Entirely UK-owned company.
220 employees in two locations in the UK.
Operates the largest Oracle geo-spatial database in Europe.
Supplies over 2000 environmental/planning reports electronically per day via its ordering web sites.
The home of “Russian Maps”!

4. COMPACT Modelling
Composite Object Modelling Process for Architectural Communication in Teams
Technique developed by Landmark Information Group for modelling the design of web applications in 2004 to enhance the quality of the software development process.
Collaboration now with the University of Greenwich
We needed a map! To:
See where we needed to go.
Divide the work between the developers.
Greenwich are using this as part of all web coursework.
It gives them an overview of the website created by the student and something to “hang” the other documentation from (e.g. detailed UML diagrams).

5. The Problem Addressed
Need for a single model that can be used as a tool to enhance the quality of the communication between all members of the development team.
Existing techniques either:
fragmented essential information across several models or;
were too complex to be accepted by the range of staff working on a project.

6. Existing Approaches (1)
Data Modelling based Approaches
Focus on storage and navigation
Tend not to address the complex server-side processing needed for many web applications
User focussed Approaches
These tend to concentrate on user modelling and capturing user requirements accurately

7. Existing Approaches (2)
Lifecycle Focussed Approaches
Extend previous approaches
Too many models
Struts-specific Modelling approaches
Tends to support model driven design via a tool that typically generates some code
Do not provide good overview model

8. Existing Approaches (3)
Process focussed Approaches
Main debate is about whether UML is sufficient to support all the modelling requirements.
No overview model.
Not understood by non-technical members of the team.

9. Overview model needed
Many UML models use a restricted number of element types - does not allow the eye to “scan” the model.
You HAVE to read most of the detail
Notation used must be easily associated within the application domain and understood by developers who are not formally qualified Software Engineers.
Both the user flow through the site and the data that is passed around needs to be captured on the same model.
Need to minimise the number of individual models

10. Overview model needed
When starting the design of a web application you need some sort of context diagram around which to base your discussions.
People reviewing the design of a web app also need some sort of “context”.
UML diagrams give too much low-level detail but little real “context” into which this can be placed.
People new to a project need some sort of “map” to find their way around.

11. What is COMPACT?
Aims to produce a high-level, architectural model of all the web pages within a web application.
Shows how they are connected together.
Shows the details of any server-side processing needed to support the transitions between web pages.
Shows the points within the application where major external systems are accessed.
Shows what server-side components are used in processing a user request

12. What is COMPACT?
Once the “network” has been completed, details regarding the information that is passed between the major components within the application are added.
Originally produced to support Java-based Web Applications using the Struts MVC framework, this has now been extended to support non-Struts applications.
Uses both shape and colour to allow the eye to easily “scan” the Model and to highlight particular points of interest.

13. COMPACT – A Developers View
Work out where they are and where they need to go.
Stimulate debate about the best way of getting from “A” to “B”.
Introduce new developers to the project quickly by giving them access to a context within which to understand the detail they will rapidly encounter.
Allow the development work to be easily split between developers.
Make it clear which developers will be responsible for which parts of the system being developed.
Leave behind a piece of high-level documentation that describes the web application as it was delivered (which may not be the same as how it was initially designed).

14. Enough Theory! Lets take it for a “Test Drive”
This is COMPACT used on a real project that is currently LIVE.

15. Using COMPACT

16. Using COMPACT

17. Using COMPACT

23. Other COMPACT Shapes A General Java Class
A JSP Tag Library: (Tag name within angled brackets)
Java Exceptions

24. Other COMPACT Shapes
EJB v2 type
EJB v3 type
Web Service

25. How has this been implemented?
As a Custom Microsoft Visio Stencil/Template.
Why Visio?
It was the best tool that we had to hand.
Everyone in the Team had easy access to it.
It is easy to distribute custom stencils.

26. Further Information
See the COMPACT website:

27. Any Questions?