Firesmith received his B.A. in Mathematics and German from Linfield College in 1975 and his M.A. in Mathematics from Arizona State University in 1977. He also studied one year at Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich. Firesmith started working in the computer business as a software developer in 1979 and has been quality engineer, configuration manager, and data manager for Computer Science Corporation in the US, Germany, and Switzerland. From 1984 to 1988 he was an OO methodologist at Magnavox Electronic Systems Corporation. And from 1988 to 1995 he was President of Advanced Software Technology Specialists, a small consulting and training company. From 1994 to 1997 he has been an acquisition editor and editor and chief of Reference Books at SIGS Books. And further he was a Senior advisory software engineer at StorageTek, where he worked as a technical leader, requirements engineer, and software architect, Chief architect Lante Corporation, which specialized in producing eMarketplaces, and Chief architect for the North American Business Unit of Cambridge Technology Partners. Since 2003 he is a Principal Engineer at the SoftwareEngineering Institute where he works in the Client Technical Solutions Software Solutions Division helping the United States Government acquire software-intensive systems. Firesmith was named a Distinguished Engineer by the Association of Computing Machinery in 2015.
Work
Method Engineering (ME) and Open Process Environment and Notation (OPEN)
Firesmith is a co-founder with Brian Henderson-Sellers and Ian Graham of the international . Firesmith was the principal developer of the OPEN Modeling Language. Firesmith is the founder of the and the developer of its large repository of free, open-source, reusable method components. The approach to software development is founded on situational method engineering. This is a means by which a software development team can construct a method and process that is appropriate for their own particular situation or circumstances. Fragments of methods, conformant with an international software engineering metamodel standard such as ISO/IEC 24744 and stored in a repository, are individually selected and the method composed from these method fragments. The SME approach is based on research by many groups worldwide – results from a recent conference are published.
Firesmith is the primary developer of the Method Framework for Engineering System Architectures. This framework consists of the following:
Ontology defining the key concepts of system architecture engineering and their relationships
Metamodel defining the foundational abstract supertypes of method components for engineering system architectures including architectural:
* Work products including architectures and architectural representations such as models and documents
* Work units including activities, tasks, and techniques for producing the work products
* Producers including architects, architecture teams, and architecture tools that perform the work units to produce the work products
Repository of free, open-source, reusable method components for creating situation-specific system architecture engineering methods
Metamethod for creating situation-specific system architecture engineering methods by selecting appropriate method components from the repository, tailoring them as appropriate, and integrating them to form the new architecture engineering method
Publications
He is the author of several technical books in system and software engineering as well as numerous technical articles, conference papers, and tutorials A selection:
1995. The Dictionary of Object Technology: The Definitive Desk Reference, Cambridge University Books,, with Edward M. Eykholt
1998. OPEN Modeling Language Reference Manual, Cambridge University Books,, with Brian Henderson-Sellers and Ian Graham
1998. Documenting a Complete Java Application using OPEN, Addison-Wesley Longman,, with Scott Krutsch, Marshall Stowe, and Greg Hendley
2001. The OPEN Process Framework, Addison-Wesley Longman,, with Brian Henderson-Sellers
2008. The Method Framework for Engineering System Architectures, Auerbach Publication,, with Peter Capell, Dietrich Falkenthal, Charles B. Hammons, DeWitt T. Latimer IV, and Tom Merendino
2013. Common System and Software Testing Pitfalls and Ways to Prevent and Mitigate Them: Descriptions, Symptoms, Consequences, Causes, and Recommendations, Addison-Wesley,
Firesmith is also the author of several modern paranormal fantasy, apocalyptic science fiction, action and adventure novels:
2014. Magical Wands: A Cornucopia of Wand Lore, CreateSpace,
2015 Hell Holes: What Lurks Below, CreateSpace,
2016 Hell Holes: Demons on the Dalton, CreateSpace,
