Abstract
Model driven software development is about treating
models as first class design entities and thereby raising
the level of abstraction in software development. A model
is a simplified image of a system and, further, model
transformation means converting one model to another
model of the same system. Transformation is a key to
model driven development while automation of
transformation is one of the essential goals of model
driven architecture (MDA), an initiative to standardize
model driven development. Model transformation aims at
automating the transition from business models to
implementation models. In addition to model refinement,
model transformations are used for improving models by
restructuring, completing and optimising them.
Quality-driven software architecture model transformation
(QAMT) denotes changing an architectural model according
to changing or varying quality properties, wherein a
quality property is a non-functional interest of one or
more system stakeholders. In this dissertation, I examine
QAMT automation, i.e. reducing the need for human
intervention in QAMT. Therefore, the research question in
this dissertation is "how to make automation of QAMT
possible". This dissertation provides an answer to the
research question by presenting a model to support QAMT
automation. The model is derived from the experience
gained in four industrial cases and in one laboratory
case study. The model is written with Unified Modelling
Language 2.0 and includes activities to describe the
process of transformation and collaborating actors that
execute the activities.
The goals of the model are (1) to describe transformation
as completely as possible, (2) to provide support toward
automation, (3) to stay independent of implementation
technologies, (4) to be mature and validated and (5) to
conform to standards. Transformation is described by
presenting a marked model, a mapping and a transformation
record, and transformation activities. While the QAMT
model does not support total automation of all the
activities, it does reduce the need for human
intervention. The QAMT model shows good performance in
platform independence and it is validated in five
different cases. Finally, the QAMT model promotes
understandability by following, e.g., the terminology and
specification structures defined in the most important
standards in the area.
This research introduces an automation model for
quality-driven software architecture model
transformation. So far, the research effort on model
driven architecture has been focusing on automating
vertical transformations such as code generation. The
work in this dissertation initiates the automation of
horizontal model transformations and suggests future
research topics to accumulate the knowledge on the
subject and again to derive fresh topics to explore and
new ideas to experiment with.
Original language | English |
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Qualification | Doctor Degree |
Awarding Institution |
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Supervisors/Advisors |
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Award date | 22 Sept 2006 |
Place of Publication | Espoo |
Publisher | |
Print ISBNs | 951-38-6848-6 |
Electronic ISBNs | 951-38-6849-4 |
Publication status | Published - 2006 |
MoE publication type | G5 Doctoral dissertation (article) |
Keywords
- software architecture
- quality-driven software architecture development
- model-driven development
- model-driven architecture (MDA)
- model transformation