Download my CV (pdf)

Projects

Here under is a detailed description of the main projects I've been (and still am) working on.

June 2009 / now

After some crazy gossip, ILOG has finally been acquired by IBM, and JRules is now a Websphere product ! This transition has been quite an adventure, it was something to see...

In the meantime, I have joined another team in the R&D, called "Authoring Team". We develop and maintain the DSL framework that fuels JRules, as well as some editors for Business Rules artifacts like Decision Tables and Trees. I'm in charge of all the Web variations of these editors, mainly including :

  • the text-based intellisense editor : a full-blown javascript component that allows for edition of DSLs right inside the browser (with syntax highlighting, completion, error reporting etc.)
  • the Decision Table editor : a specialized spreadsheet a la GoogleDocs

All this is really interesting web programming, we use state-of-the art tools and libraries in order to create an unparallaled user experience. It also allowed me to step foot into the DSLs world : the vocabulary/language stack we have is quite impressive.

Technologies
Web programming (Javascript, frameworks - ExtJS, Dojo), web testing (Selenium), natural language technologies.

June 2007 / June 2009

I've joined ILOG's RnD, in the Business Rules divison. I'm a developer in the amazing JRules product, part of the Enterprise Integration team... We develop several features related to rule engine execution in JEE Application Servers, and its integration in all the JEE layers, ranging from JCA to EJBs via JMX ! We also manage the various ports for the major App Servers out there (Websphere, Weblogic, JBoss, OC4J, SunAS, Tomcat, etc.).

This job is probably the best I've had so far. I'm working with brilliant and motivated people, on a top-nutch project, I'm learning a lot there. Moreover, besides the pleasure I get working on such a techology jewel, I'm also learning a lot about the processes and requirements of a big software vendor. Things I hadn't really experienced before, like maintaining 5 versions in parallel, or working on a several million lines codebases. Definitly interesting position.

Technologies
JEE, the full spectrum ! Rule-based programming and architectures. Heavy continuous integration and build systems (Bamboo, Cruise Control, Maven).

2006 / 2007 : Universite de Savoie

Part of my team at CSTB is working on a specific application for the Universite de Savoie, that allows fine-grained management of the various costs related to buildings usage maintenance.

I'm involved in specification and design, and as a technical advisor for the development team. The application is composed of a core services layer (Web Services), with a WebStarted rich client front-end. It is developed using MDA tools, on top of the latest Open Source technologies.

We've already shipped two versions, and the team is working on v3.

In parallel, we also do exploratory work with Universite de Savoie in the Facilities Management (FM) domain. We hope to release a second version of AGPS soon (see below), and turn it into a generic, open and extensible foundation for building FM applications easier.

Technologies
UML, AndroMDA, Swing, JEE, Spring, Hibernate, Axis

2006 / 2007 : SWOP

Semantic Web-based Engineering Platform

SWOP is an EC funded R&D project I'm currently working on. It aims at providing an Open, Standards-based platform for product and process optimization.

The team at CSTB is in charge of designing and implementing the Genetic Algorythm Engine. This module handles optimization of complex product configurations (manufacturing, supply chain, construction processes, etc.) via Evolutionary runs, based on Product Data expressed using the latest Semantic Web technologies from W3C.

We also lead the design and implementation of the front-end, a web-based portal that allows end-users to access the features of the SWOP platform.

Technologies
GA, ECJ, OWL, XML, Groovy, J2EE, Stripes

2001 / now : JFacets, Woko and Open Source stuff

From 2001 I've been spending quite some time working on Open Source projects. Main ones are :

  • JFacets : user profiling toolkit, aiming at providing a consistent solution to the recurrent "user profiling" issue. I've started this project around Y2K, and continuously improved it since then. It's now stable and efficient, and it's the basis for another framework I've created...
  • Woko : The Object Oriented Wiki, a full stack web framework that simply puts your POJOs on the Web ! More than a technology bundle (Hibernate, JPA, Spring, Compass/Lucene, Acegi, Stripes, Groovy, JFacets...), Woko introduces a disruptive way of designing and implementing webapps. It began as a playground for trying out various ideas, and is now getting more and more stable. Some teams at ILOG are already using it to create internal applications ;
  • Stripes : the best MVC out there ! Stripes makes Java web developement easy, fun, and productive. Moreover, people gravitating around this framework are brilliant and friendly, and it's a pleasure to be part of this community.

2005 / 2006 : French Real Estate

French Real Estate is a riviera-based real estate company, with offices in Cannes, Nice, St Tropez and Morocco.

They have been my principal client as an independant. With another independant partner, we've been building their whole business intranet from the ground up, in replacement of the outdated 4D database, mostly used as a contacts book then.

Following an Agile methodology, close to the client with frequent releases and validations, we've been creating the software they now use everyday to support their activities and processes.
The application handles the full life cycle of a real estate transaction, from prospection to delivery and commission management. It provides a multi-profile access to the company's information system, allowing the various involved actors to collaborate efficiently and increase the overall efficiency of the company.

Technologies
Agile development, Java, J2EE, Hibernate

2005 / 2006 : Gespace (Facilities Management)

Gespace is a SME based in Paris, specialized in Facilities Management. It manages lots of buildings for administrations and education (maintenance, financial aspects, etc.).

As an independant contractor (30 days contract), I've been in charge of the design and implementation of the corporate Information System. With another independant partner, we've built the very first "intranet" for this company, supporting their daily processes and workflows.

The application is still used and maintained by my partner of that time.

Technologies
Swing/Webstart, J2EE, Hibernate

2004 / 2006 : Reef Search Engine

I've been involved in some R&D for the main commercial product of CSTB : CD-Reef, which is basically a catalog of regulation codes edited by AFNOR. CSTB adds value to the documents by providing domain-specific classifications, as well as an advanced full-text search engine.

CSTB wanted to investigate indexation and searching more, in order to provide more accurate results to the end-user, and try to find more effective processes for building the products.
I was charged of investigating Lucene, the Java-based indexation and search framework, and coupling it to the existing dictionaries of synonyms and expressions.

After some research, we came up with a fully functional prototype of the back-end indexation and search component, and a web-based applcation demonstrating its usage.

The outcome of our work is currently being used as a basis for the next generation of editorial products of CSTB, and has also been reused in other contexts (e.g. partnership with SETRA).

Technologies
Java, Lucene, PDF, XML, J2EE

2003 / 2006 : AGPS

AGent Plans Surfaces : a Facilities Management (FM) set of applications for managing surfaces, classifications and people in the buildings.

AGPS allows facility owners to know the exact repartition of their surfaces, in terms of classification (office, circulation, meeting room, etc.) and occupiance (John Doe, the Sales Departement, etc.).
It provides tools for managing the buildings, profiles, and classifications, as well as the associations between them. A dedicated web interface allows decision makers to get indicators and feedback through configurable reports.

I've been the architect and lead programmer in this project. My tasks consisted in developing the various modules of the application :

  • core application server (EJBs) ;
  • front-end tools (rich clients) ;
  • web-based portal and reporting.

The project methodology was clearly RAD, we had the client nearby and so we could afford short iterations and constant validation.

We shipped it in time, and the application is still used today by the client, who manages thousands square meters easily with it.

Last but not least, it has been the first commercial application using JFacets, my own framework, for handling profiling issues.

Technologies
UML, IFC/STEP, Swing, Java Web Start, JSP/servlets, EJB, JBoss, MySQL

2001 / 2003 : OSMOS (IST-1999-10491)

Open System for Inter-enterprise Information Management in Dynamic Virtual Environments

Provide an low-level entry cost, open system for the "Virtual Enterprise" in construction, allowing dispersed actors to collaborate and work together on construction projects through integrated online tools and services.

Main work consisted in :

  • Participation to the user requirements and Virtual Enterprise business processes capture ;
  • Participation (workpackage leader) to the specification of the OSMOS Integration Platform ;
  • Implementation of the OSMOS Third Party Services Integration Platform ;
  • Specification & Implementation of the OSMOS Interoperable Message Service ;
  • Development of Swing-based monitoring and control tools.

The main positive outcome of this project was Olof Granlund, a pretty big IT provider in Finland, implementing our "Lightweight Services Bus" in some of its products.

Technologies
IDEF0 Process Modelling, UML, Meta-information & Introspection, Java, RMI, XML-RPC/SOAP, TCP/IP, POP, SMTP, IMAP, Plug-in technologies

Publications

  • .E. Wilson, S. Harvey, R. Vankeisbelck, A.S. Kazi, - OSMOS: Enabling the construction virtual enterprise, Special Issue of the Journal of Information Technology in Construction, Vol. 6 (2001), ISSN 1400-6529 (http://www.itcon.org/2001/8/) ;
  • Vankeisbelck, R., Kazi, A.S., Rezgui, Y. and Zarli, A. (2002) "Distributed Service Management in Dynmaic Virtual Enterprises", Challenges and Acheivements in E-business and E-work (e2002), Stanford-Smith B., Chiozza E., and Edin, M. (ed.), Prague (Czech Republic), 16-18 October, IOS Press, pp. 1275-1282.

2001 / 2003 : ISTforCE (IST-1999-11508)

Intelligent Services and Tools for Concurrent Engineering

The project aimed at providing new collaborative tools for engineering, in the Building and Construction sector. It was my first EC-funded R&D project (IST programme) at CSTB.

I've been in charge of the specification and implementation of the Code compliance Checking Service (CCS) prototype : a web-based expert system which allows to verify a building model against the French Regulation for the accessibility of disabled persons to public buildings.

Main work consisted in :

  • Implementation of the geometry extraction algorythms in the CCS ;
  • Design and implementation of the Web User Interface ;
  • Specification of the Product Data Server (PDS) : an IFC model server including access rights and versionning, designed as an extended FTP.

This project allowed me to dive deep into Modelling and associated technologies. Building models are pretty complex, and hard to handle sometimes. We've been looking into the dark corners of the IFC Schema and contributed quite some feedback to the IAI (designers of the IFCs).

Also, Code Checking being a pretty important thing (imagine the chaos if no regulation existed in Building and Construction !), the experience we've earned through this project has been reused for dissemination, consultancy activities and trainings. Pretty big players (such as EDF, where I gave a training on the subject) have approached us to learn more about automatic Code Compliance Checking.

Technologies
ISO STEP, IAI IFC, Delphi, Servlets, XML, XSL, Cocoon

Publications

  • Pascual, E., Vankeisbelck, R., and Zarli A. (2002) Knowledge based Checking of Building Designs, based on Digital Regulations, eWork and eBusiness in Architecture, Engineering and Construction (ECPPM 2002), Turk Z. and Scherer R.J. (ed.), Protoroz (Slovenia), 09-11 September, A.A. Balkema, pp.481-486

2000 - CorbaWeb

I've worked on this project as a Research Assistant in the GOODE team of LIFL (University Research Lab in Lille), through a national healthcare project involving the University, a local Hospital, and a private software company.

I was in charge of implementing the multi-profile version of CorbaWeb, a bridge between CORBA and the WWW. Amongst many other fruitful ideas, this project has initiated JFacets by drawing the big picture of new generation Profile-based applications.

Technologies
RAD, UML, CORBA, CorbaScript, HTTP