Panel Chair
 -------------
 Connie Heitmeyer (U.S.)	Naval Research Laboratory

 Panel Members
 ------------------
 Manfred Broy (Germany)	Technical University of Munich
 Insup Lee	(U.S)		University of Pennsylvania
 Shankar (U.S.)		SRI
 Joseph Sifakis (France)	VERIMAG
 Alan Wassyng (Canada)	McMaster University

 Panel Title
 -------------------
 On the Need for Improved Methods, Models, and Languages in Tool-Based
 Software Development

 Panel Overview
 -------------------
 Although the potential utility of tools for constructing reliable
 software is widely acknowledged, experience in applying tools in
 practical software development demonstrates that tools by themselves
 are insufficient.  In addition to tools, software practitioners need
 improved software development methods, techniques for constructing
 improved specifications and models, and improved languages for
 representing the specifications and models.    While languages, such
 as UML and Simulink, are currently popular among some practitioners
 for constructing models, the models they produce have disadvantages
 (e.g., they introduce unneeded artifacts into the model).  Hence,
 researchers may need to revisit specification languages.  Moreover,
 practitioners need help in constructing high quality models and
 specifications.  One serious problem is that many of the models that
 practitioners construct are too low level.  This makes tool-based
 formal analysis of a model more difficult because the model is larger
 than necessary and is hence more difficult to analyze.  Finally,
 important products of the software development process should be
 high-quality specifications, including requirements specifications,
 specifications of component interfaces, etc.  A good specification
 language should help the practitioner reduce implementation bias,
 reduce redundancy, and achieve the right level of abstraction in the
 specification.

 The purpose of the panel is to discuss the role of methods, models
 and specifications, and languages in tool-based software development
 and how they can be improved.  Questions such as the following will
 be addressed:

 1.  What are the attributes of good models?  of good specifications?

 2.  What techniques and technology could help practitioners develop
     better models?  better  specifications?   How can abstraction be 
     more effectively used in specifications and models? How should 
     specifications be organized?

 3.  What are the attributes of good specification languages?

 4.  What methods should be used in applying tools in software 
     development?

 5.   What is the role in software development of languages, methods, 
      and tools that are domain-specific?