BRIEF BIO

James J. Odell is a consultant, writer, and educator in the areas of agent-based and object-oriented systems, methodology, applied ontology, service oriented architecture (SOA), business process management (BPM), event-driven development (EDA/CEP), and complex adaptive systems (CAS). Throughout most of his thirty-five year career, Mr. Odell has been heavily involved in developing better methods to understand, communicate, and manage system requirements. He was one of the early innovators of information engineering methodologies. Formerly, he was the principal consultant for KnowledgeWare, Inc. where he pioneered and taught the concepts of data modeling, information strategy planning, and CASE technology application. He then became one of the first practical implementors of object-oriented analysis and design. Working with the OMG and other major methodologists, he continues to innovate and improve development methods and techniques. In particular, he participated in the development of the UML and UML 2.0, and is the chair of the OMG’s Analysis and Design Task Force (ADTF) as well as its SOA Special Interest Group (SOA SIG). He also managed the development of OMG's UML certification exams and is the first certified UML Advanced Professional. For the last twelve years, Mr. Odell has been involved in agent-based and complex systems—and their application to business systems (including an agent-based UML, called AUML). He is also the acting chair of the IEEE FIPA Standards Committee, the chair of the OMG's Agents Special Interest Group, and a member of the OASIS SOA Refefence Architecture. He conducts seminars and workshops—both on-site and public—and provides consulting to major companies worldwide. He has co-authored books with James Martin entitled Object-Oriented Analysis and Design (1992), Object-Oriented Methods: Pragmatic Considerations (1996), and Object-Oriented Methods: A Foundation, UML Edition (1998) published by Prentice-Hall, and is the editor of five agent-based books on Springer He is currently working on two new books that describe how to use the agent-based and complex-systems approach in industry. His clients represent many business sectors and include major companies, such as Netscape, Amazon.com, CSC, DHL, Oracle, IBM, Hewlett-Packard, TIBCO, Novartis, DuPont, Lowe's, Standard Oil, British Petroleum, Aramco, National Health Service (UK), British Telecom, Cincinnati Bell, SBC, GTE, AirTouch, DTE Energy, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, American Express, Fireman's Fund, Prudential, Travelers, Nordstrom, Levi Strauss, Lockheed, NASA, Deere & Co., Ford, Chrysler, GM, Philips Electronics, Capgemini, Price Waterhouse Coopers, Deloitte & Touche, and Kabira—spanning 17 countries.

Send comments to James Odell <Contact> Last update: 2 January 2010