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The Architectural Expert (ArchE) tool |
Speaker: Len Bass
When: 10:00, Friday, 16 April 2007
Venue: 78-420
The Architecture Expert (ArchE) tool is an assistant to the architect. It embodies quality attribute theories, techniques for ascertaining the appropriate quality attribute model from an architectural description, techniques for solving the quality attribute model to determine a predicted response in given situations, and the ability to use legacy designs as input. A sample interaction with an architect might be:
- The architect input so features that need to be computed by the system being designed.
- A pre-specified portion of the design such as use of specific components
- Quality attribute requirements specified as scenarios
ArchE asks for information necessary to determine quality attribute behaviour such as execution time for various features, cost of change of various features. ArchE (a) Proposes a design, (b) Identifies quality attribute scenarios that are not achieved with that design, (c) Presents a list of tactics that might improve the design such as: Insert an intermediary to improve the modifiability in a certain area, Introduce concurrency in a particular area to improve modifiability. The architect chooses one or more tactics and ArchE applies these tactics to produce a new proposed design. The architect then may need to provide additional information to the new design such as a meaningful name for a common service or computation time for an intermediary. This process re-occurs until either (a) The quality attribute requirements are met or (b) The architect is happy with the result or (c) ArchE has no more proposals.
ArchE currently has quality attribute knowledge of real time, performance, modifiability, and variability. ArchE currently also has the ability to use legacy designs or portions of legacy designs as inputs.
Hospitality: Lars Grunske
Contact: Robert Colvin (SSE seminar co-ordinator) (robert@itee.uq.edu.au)
SSE seminar web page: http://www.itee.uq.edu.au/~sse/Seminars.html