(Note that I’m strictly referring to the MDA standard, not to model-driven engineering in general).
In 2003, the OMG published the MDA guide v1.0.1 describing the MDA framework, an “… an approach to using models in software development. MDA provides an approach for, and enables tools to be provided for: specifying a system independently of the platform that supports it, specifying platforms, choosing a particular platform for the system, and transforming the system specification into one for a particular platform.”
In fact, I believe this definition fell short. The idea was to support this initial MDA guide with a set of “MDA standard specifications” that would realize this framework. But so far, we have not really seen a set of MDA-compliant specifications for each of the MDA phases (CIM, PIM, PSM) proposed in the guide. So MDA remain more as a conceptual framework than a real a one (related to this, you may want to read as well: Anybody using both MDA platform-independent AND platform-specific models? ).
Some years later, in 2009, we echoed the ongoing work on a MDA Guide 2.0 (named “MDA foundation model) with the more ambitious goal of formalizing the MDA terms to provide a more precise definition of the semantics of concepts like models, transformations, … Note that in the own OMG’s MDA page it says (still today) that: “The MDA Guide, Version 1.0.1, just mentioned, defines the MDA. OMG members expect to replace this interim version with an update, based on the Foundation Model also just mentioned, around mid-2005. “. So, the draft I saw was already four years late.
And after four more years have passed, nothing has been officially published. Dear OMG, what’s going on? Did you realize that MDA was not a good idea? Weren’t you able to agree on a more precise definition of what MDA should be? Should we be worried because of something you discovered and are afraid to make public 🙂 ?
I think that after all the marketing effort you put behind the MDA brand (and trademark 🙂 ), we deserve an answer.
(Note: this posts reflects, on purpose, just the external view of the situation, I didn’t check with anybody from the OMG to get a more informed opinion from the inside. I will probably do but I wanted first to summarize a feeling that from what I’ve discussed with a few collagues is a shared feeling).
FNR Pearl Chair. Head of the Software Engineering RDI Unit at LIST. Affiliate Professor at University of Luxembourg. Â More about me.
As you cleared yourself, MDA (as brand name :)) has not been updated lately, but I guess the core ideas of MDE are floating throughout the major specifications of OMG. Recents specs like for QVT, MDMI, etc. are keeping the flow. However, I agree to the fact that this specifications needs an update.
I’m not into the MDA manual writing myself, but since I attend OMG meetings regularly, I hear about the ongoing work.
Don’t take it as an official statement, but as far as I know the ordeal is coming to an end, and we should have the new version of the manual reasonably soon.
I’ll pose an official question to the OMG ADTF next time, and I’ll be back to you with an answer.
Marco
Quick update on this: I talked to OMG representatives at the last OMG meeting. The updated MDA guide should be out in 2014 (presumably the first quarter).