The Laws of Software Process

85

Of Methods and Models and Minds

Within each model set, there are models that we adopt as conventions

that hopefully will help us understand what the system has to do. The

nature of these models is also conventional, although these conventions

are starting to solidify within the profession of software development. This

convergence of ideas is largely due to the following:

• People are realizing that there is more to be gained through the

acceptance of a “standard” modeling notation than there is to be

gained through continually “re-devising” one. However, this realiza-

tion may not be quite as true as we think.

• There are certain systems behaviors that are universal and can be

adequately defined using a consistent notation. For instance, all

dynamic ...