Improving software process to implement a wireless mobile network

In the future, computer networks will consist of multiple personal computing devices connected by wired and wireless links. The system will operate in a peer-to-peer mode, allowing the network of computers to act as one large server, providing information to each node as needed. In addition, the computers will be mobile, connecting and disconnecting from networks at will, to meet the needs of the user. Because wireless links will be prevalent, users will be able to compute while on the move, increasing the utility and complexity of the information network. These mobile, wireless network characteristics add many dynamic aspects that can be addressed by object-oriented, knowledge-based, and simulation methods. Software engineering currently is composed of several detached activities consisting of requirements analysis, design, implementation, and test. These activities are performed and documented in segments with little automatic flowthrough,of information. This segmented approach impedes the progress to a working understandable system. As the software changes during implementation and test, even the best efforts fail to keep the documentation up-to-date. In the end, the product is difficult to maintain and impossible to understand. This manual process of software engineering must be changed to automate repetitive tasks and to remove opportunities for human error. A wireless, mobile networks application is used to illustrate the improvements in the process that will lead to an effective implementation of such complicated distributed systems.