Student: Vahid Bahreman

Supervisor: Z. Stachniak

Description

The manufacturers of tablets, pocket PCs, smart-phones, etc. frequently release software simulators (or emulators) of these devices to emulate the functionality of actual products for cost-effective development of application software (e.g. to test how a given device's software, screen, keyboard, or trackwheel will work with an application under development). These simulators can also be used as sophisticated tools for testing, training and in presentations. The design and implementation of such emulators require a broad computer science expertise from hardware architecture to operating systems and computer graphics.

The history of computing is another area that actively supports the development of emulators of historically significant hardware (mostly computers and game consoles). As a result, there is at least one emulator of almost every significant system. This activity contributes, in the first place, to the preservation and dissemination of significant hardware and software technologies. The project's objective is to design and implement an emulator of the CPS/1 computer – one of the earliest commercially available microprocessor-powered computers. York University Computer Museum is in the possession of CPS-1's design blueprints and other technical documentation. The completed project would be a significant contribution to the preservation of unique Canadian computer technologies.

Background information: The CPS/1 computer was designed and built by a Canadian company Microsystems International Ltd. between 1972 and 73. The computer was built around the first Canadian microprocessor–the MF7114–one of world's earliest microprocessors. Although none of the CPS/1 computers have survived, technical information about the CPS/1 has been preserved. This makes the design and implementation of an emulator possible. More information on http://www.cse.yorku.ca/museum/collections/MIL/MIL.htm

Student: Dean Shaft

Supervisor: S. Liaskos and Y. Lesperance

Description

Business Process Modeling (BPM) notations are an increasingly popular subject of investigation in the analysis and design of Information Systems. Such notations allow analysts to represent different ways by which actors of a domain can collaboratively perform tasks in order to meet certain business goals. The diagrammatic result allows understanding of the involved activities at various levels of abstraction each being useful for different stakeholders, such as business versus technical ones. It also provides a basis for further formalization and analysis of the modeled business process or its translation into implementation models such as service composition programs. Several BPM languages have been introduced, most prominent being the Business Process Modeling Notation (BPMN). Variability occurs in business processes, in that the same business process may need to either be reused in a different context (e.g. a different organization) or adapt to changing requirements or environmental constraints. Thus, each variation of the business process is applicable to a different situation affects specified customization criteria in a different way. Such criteria may include high-level qualities or non-functional goals e.g. such as key performance indicators (KPIs) or operational constraints that prescribe patterns which the business process must follow. To some extend BPMs offer constructs for modeling such variability. However, both the problems of modeling customization criteria and that of using them to derive business process variations that best satisfy them have not enjoyed significant attention in the literature. In this project we shall investigate ways of modeling and reasoning about business process variability. We will pick a BPM, possibly BPMN, and explore different ways by which variability can be expressed. Then we will look at criteria that define variant selection and how such can be represented as well. Through possible formalizations in specification frameworks that are used in AI such as Situation Calculus or planning definition languages, the problem of automatically selecting variants of interest in order to meet certain customization criteria shall be studied. In the end we are hoping to develop a concrete framework for representing and reasoning about business process variability in light of high-level goal-based customization criteria.