Oxford graduate creates free product to transform computing through use of Roles

A free software application, RADRunner, is set to transform enterprise computing. Organisations looking to streamline, automate and web-enable their operations - including dealings with trading partners - can use it to build systems that change continuously as required, without the need for programming. RADRunner derives from 20 years of research, and is based on the definition of interactive Roles played by humans and machines.

[3 versions of this press release are supplied - 730 words, 455 words, and 231 words

(730 words)

An Oxford University graduate has created a software application, RADRunner, that is set to transform the world of enterprise computing - and is giving it away free.

Keith Harrison-Broninski came up to St Edmund Hall, Oxford in 1982, obtaining a starred double first in Mathematics then an MSc in Computation. Since then he has combined a career in IT consulting with musical work as a jazz pianist, recording with artists including legendary US saxman Pee Wee Ellis, and jazz/classical composer, whose works have been performed at concert halls such as St George's Bristol and broadcast on BBC Radio.

In 2001, Keith Harrison-Broninski returned to an area of research, Role Activity Theory, that he first became involved with at the start of his computing career. In the late 1980's he created the conceptual model for a research project, IPSE 2.5, which was jointly funded by government and industry under the Alvey scheme. "We built a prototype system which let users manage their work via Roles - a Role knows what you want to do, supports it, and does all the mundane activities and communications for you. Role Activity Theory is now 20 years old, but its ideals are more relevant than ever - and the new Internet technologies have finally made it possible to implement them for day-to-day use", says Harrison-Broninski.

"The fundamental challenge for information technology is to help people reach common goals - whether or not they use the same computer systems, speak the same language, or even work for the same organisation. Current process management and application integration standards and solutions are too low-level - they have been inspired by technology trends. You need more than functionality; you need a framework in which it's use is driven by organisational needs, and it must be made available via simple interfaces that anyone can understand."

RADRunner derives from research into co-ordinating human work practices dating originally from work carried out in 1983 in the USA, and now pursued in universities worldwide. "The key insight that has driven the research all along is that an effective computer system must be capable of supporting change without going back to the drawing board - and this means basing it on the way people work in real life. People think of themselves as having varied responsibilities and goals, which can be captured with the notion of Roles that they play. RADRunner is based on defining and running Roles to be played interactively by human and machines," says Harrison-Broninski. "It is simple to define Roles that not only support the way you work now, but which permit their users to make controlled changes to other Roles - even if those to be changed are already running live in the organisation."

Organisations looking to streamline, automate and web-enable their operations - including their dealings with partner organisations and individuals, such as customers and suppliers - can use RADRunner to build systems that change themselves continuously, and since this is all done via simple web screens, there is no need for programming during either set up or maintenance.

Roles can be defined which include activities carried out by trading partners, and RADRunner will support these activities even if the partners are not using the system themselves. Users of RADRunner can access the system directly from any Web-enabled device, including mobile phones and PDAs, and it provides access to documents, databases, and web applications of any kind. "We believe that RADRunner delivers the promise of the Internet", says Tim Tribe, Engineering Director of insurance software specialist TCP LifeSystems, who sponsored Harrison-Broninski to develop the system. "RADRunner supplies a new layer of computation, which allows people and organisations world-wide to co-operate in a secure manner, no matter where they are or how they access the Internet".

"The research has been an idealistic venture from the start", says Keith Harrison-Broninski. "Long before the necessary technology became available to make a viable Role-based system, those involved believed that Roles are a better way to interact with computers, and that in the end everyone will be using computers in this way. Current computer systems are like the first motor cars - you operate them by fiddling under the hood, and have to acquire engineering skills in order to keep them running. Most people don't want, or need, this level of detail!"

RADRunner is available free from http://www.rolemodellers.com.

(455 words)

RADRunner, a free product from UK software house Role Modellers Ltd, is set to transform the world of enterprise computing. Organisations looking to streamline, automate and web-enable their operations - including their dealings with trading partners - can use it to build systems that change themselves continuously.

RADRunner supports changing business practices without the need for programmers at all. According to a white paper on the Role Modellers web site, with RADRunner you go "From Requirements To Roll-out Immediately".

"The fundamental challenge for information technology is to help people reach common goals - whether or not they use the same computer systems, speak the same language, or even work for the same organisation", says Keith Harrison-Broninski, Chief Technical Officer at Role Modellers.

He describes current business process management and enterprise application integration solutions as low-level and technical, whereas "RADRunner not only provides in one product all the functionality an enterprise needs, but is based on business needs rather than technology trends."

RADRunner derives from 20 years of worldwide industrial and academic research into co-ordinating human work practices via Role Activity Theory. "The system is based on defining and running Roles to be played interactively by human and machines," says Harrison-Broninski. "It is simple to define Roles which permit their users to make controlled changes to other Roles - even if those to be changed are already running live in the organisation."

Roles can be defined which include activities carried out by trading partners, and RADRunner will support these activities even if the partners are not using the system themselves. "We believe that RADRunner delivers the promise of the Internet", says Tim Tribe, Engineering Director of insurance software specialist TCP LifeSystems, who sponsored the commercial development of the system.

"RADRunner supplies a new layer of computation, which allows people and organisations world-wide to co-operate in a secure manner, no matter where they are or how they access the Internet". Users of RADRunner can access the system directly from any Web-enabled device, including mobile phones and PDAs, and it provides access to documents, databases, and web applications of any kind.

RADRunner is a pure J2EE Java and XML application, so can be installed on all major hardware and software platforms. It has been tested in typical corporate configurations at IBM's laboratories in Hursley. As well as its relevance to the financial services sector, Role Modellers believe the product will reduce the phenomenal costs of IT development currently borne by organisations that have critical multi-party processes, such as those in the public sector, health, or pharmaceuticals.

RADRunner will also make it much simpler for systems integrators and software houses to orchestrate web services and integrate them with back-end systems.

RADRunner is available free from http://www.rolemodellers.com.

(231 words)

RADRunner, a free product from Role Modellers Ltd, is set to transform enterprise computing. Organisations looking to streamline, automate and web-enable their operations - including dealings with trading partners - can build systems that change continuously as required. "Users themselves can make controlled changes to live business processes", says Keith Harrison-Broninski, Chief Technical Officer at Role Modellers, "and go from requirements to roll-out immediately".

RADRunner derives from 20 years of research, and is based on the definition of interactive Roles played by humans and machines. "The fundamental challenge for information technology is to help people reach common goals", says Harrison-Broninski. He describes current business process management and enterprise application integration solutions as low-level and technical, whereas "RADRunner not only provides in one product all the functionality an enterprise needs, but is based on business needs rather than technology trends."

"RADRunner delivers the promise of the Internet", says Tim Tribe, Engineering Director of insurance software specialist TCP LifeSystems. "RADRunner supplies a new layer of computation, which allows people and organisations worldwide to co-operate". RADRunner can be accessed from any Web-enabled device.

RADRunner will reduce the costs of IT development for organisations that have critical multi-party processes, such as those in the financial services, pharmaceuticals, health or public sectors. RADRunner will also make it simpler for systems integrators to orchestrate and integrate web services.

RADRunner is available free from http://www.rolemodellers.com.