Requirements traceability in model-driven development: Applying model and transformation conformance

The variety of design artifacts (models) produced in a model-driven design process results in an intricate relationship between requirements and the various models. This paper proposes a methodological framework that simplifies management of this relationship, which helps in assessing the quality of models, realizations and transformation specifications. Our framework is a basis for understanding requirements traceability in model-driven development, as well as for the design of tools that support requirements traceability in model-driven development processes. We propose a notion of conformance between application models which reduces the effort needed for assessment activities. We discuss how this notion of conformance can be integrated with model transformations

The P3 platform: an approach and software system for developing diagrammatic model-based methods in design research

Many issues in design and design management have been explored by building models which capture the relationships between different aspects of the problem at hand. These models require computer support to construct and analyse. However, appropriate modelling tools can be time-consuming to develop in a research environment. Reflecting upon five design research projects, this paper proposes that such projects can be facilitated by recognising the iterative and tightly-coupled nature of research and tool development, and by attempting to minimise the effort of solution prototyping within this process. Our approach is enabled by a software platform which can be rapidly configured to implement many conceivable modelling approaches. This configurability is complemented by an emerging library of modelling and analysis approaches tailored to explore design process systems. The platform-based approach enables any mix of modelling concepts to be easily created. We propose it could thus help researchers to explore a wide range of questions without being constrained to existing conventions for modelling – or for model integration

Crosscutting, what is and what is not? A Formal definition based on a Crosscutting Pattern

Crosscutting is usually described in terms of scattering and tangling. However, the distinction between these concepts is vague, which could lead to ambiguous statements. Sometimes, precise definitions are required, e.g. for the formal identification of crosscutting concerns. We propose a conceptual framework for formalizing these concepts based on a crosscutting pattern that shows the mapping between elements at two levels, e.g. concerns and representations of concerns. The definitions of the concepts are formalized in terms of linear algebra, and visualized with matrices and matrix operations. In this way, crosscutting can be clearly distinguished from scattering and tangling. Using linear algebra, we demonstrate that our definition generalizes other definitions of crosscutting as described by Masuhara & Kiczales [21] and Tonella and Ceccato [28]. The framework can be applied across several refinement levels assuring traceability of crosscutting concerns. Usability of the framework is illustrated by means of applying it to several areas such as change impact analysis, identification of crosscutting at early phases of software development and in the area of model driven software development

A method for tailoring the information content of a software process model

The framework is defined for a general method for selecting a necessary and sufficient subset of a general software life cycle's information products, to support new software development process. Procedures for characterizing problem domains in general and mapping to a tailored set of life cycle processes and products is presented. An overview of the method is shown using the following steps: (1) During the problem concept definition phase, perform standardized interviews and dialogs between developer and user, and between user and customer; (2) Generate a quality needs profile of the software to be developed, based on information gathered in step 1; (3) Translate the quality needs profile into a profile of quality criteria that must be met by the software to satisfy the quality needs; (4) Map the quality criteria to set of accepted processes and products for achieving each criterion; (5) Select the information products which match or support the accepted processes and product of step 4; and (6) Select the design methodology which produces the information products selected in step 5

Towards an MDA-based development methodology for distributed applications

This paper proposes a development methodology for distributed applications based on the principles and concepts of the Model-Driven Architecture (MDA). The paper identifies phases and activities of an MDA-based development trajectory, and defines the roles and products of each activity in accordance with the Software Process Engineering Metamodel (SPEM). The development methodology presented in this paper is being developed and applied in the European 5th Framework project MODA-TEL, which aims at assessing the applicability and potential of MDA in the context of telecom services and applications. This paper also discusses the application of the proposed methodology on a typical telecom service case study. The paper claims that the proposed methodology is general enough to be applicable to distributed applications in other domains as well

Requirements Traceability: Recovering and Visualizing Traceability Links Between Requirements and Source Code of Object-oriented Software Systems

Requirements traceability is an important activity to reach an effective requirements management method in the requirements engineering. Requirement-to-Code Traceability Links (RtC-TLs) shape the relations between requirement and source code artifacts. RtC-TLs can assist engineers to know which parts of software code implement a specific requirement. In addition, these links can assist engineers to keep a correct mental model of software, and decreasing the risk of code quality degradation when requirements change with time mainly in large sized and complex software. However, manually recovering and preserving of these TLs puts an additional burden on engineers and is error-prone, tedious, and costly task. This paper introduces YamenTrace, an automatic approach and implementation to recover and visualize RtC-TLs in Object-Oriented software based on Latent Semantic Indexing (LSI) and Formal Concept Analysis (FCA). The originality of YamenTrace is that it exploits all code identifier names, comments, and relations in TLs recovery process. YamenTrace uses LSI to find textual similarity across software code and requirements. While FCA employs to cluster similar code and requirements together. Furthermore, YamenTrace gives a visualization of recovered TLs. To validate YamenTrace, it applied on three case studies. The findings of this evaluation prove the importance and performance of YamenTrace proposal as most of RtC-TLs were correctly recovered and visualized.Comment: 17 pages, 14 figure

A Framework for Evaluating Model-Driven Self-adaptive Software Systems

In the last few years, Model Driven Development (MDD), Component-based Software Development (CBSD), and context-oriented software have become interesting alternatives for the design and construction of self-adaptive software systems. In general, the ultimate goal of these technologies is to be able to reduce development costs and effort, while improving the modularity, flexibility, adaptability, and reliability of software systems. An analysis of these technologies shows them all to include the principle of the separation of concerns, and their further integration is a key factor to obtaining high-quality and self-adaptable software systems. Each technology identifies different concerns and deals with them separately in order to specify the design of the self-adaptive applications, and, at the same time, support software with adaptability and context-awareness. This research studies the development methodologies that employ the principles of model-driven development in building self-adaptive software systems. To this aim, this article proposes an evaluation framework for analysing and evaluating the features of model-driven approaches and their ability to support software with self-adaptability and dependability in highly dynamic contextual environment. Such evaluation framework can facilitate the software developers on selecting a development methodology that suits their software requirements and reduces the development effort of building self-adaptive software systems. This study highlights the major drawbacks of the propped model-driven approaches in the related works, and emphasise on considering the volatile aspects of self-adaptive software in the analysis, design and implementation phases of the development methodologies. In addition, we argue that the development methodologies should leave the selection of modelling languages and modelling tools to the software developers.Comment: model-driven architecture, COP, AOP, component composition, self-adaptive application, context oriented software developmen

Tools and Techniques for testing of Flight Critical Software

Flight control system software is a critical component of the digital flight control computer of light combat aircraft. The problems associated with the testing of flight critical software and the test tools, and techniques used to achieve maintainability, and structural and functional coverage of test cases are presented. Also, the experience gained throughout the cycle of testing-design and implementation, reviews and revisions, test execution and software error detection and modificaton of test cases based on requirements and design changes, and regression testing are enumerated. It presents an object-oriented approach towards testing to make it less tedious, more creative, reviewable and easily miantainable

A research review of quality assessment for software

Measures were recommended to assess the quality of software submitted to the AdaNet program. The quality factors that are important to software reuse are explored and methods of evaluating those factors are discussed. Quality factors important to software reuse are: correctness, reliability, verifiability, understandability, modifiability, and certifiability. Certifiability is included because the documentation of many factors about a software component such as its efficiency, portability, and development history, constitute a class for factors important to some users, not important at all to other, and impossible for AdaNet to distinguish between a priori. The quality factors may be assessed in different ways. There are a few quantitative measures which have been shown to indicate software quality. However, it is believed that there exists many factors that indicate quality and have not been empirically validated due to their subjective nature. These subjective factors are characterized by the way in which they support the software engineering principles of abstraction, information hiding, modularity, localization, confirmability, uniformity, and completeness