ARCHITECTURE AND METHODOLOGY OF AN INTEGRATION FRAMEWORK FOR SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT BASED ON THE VIEWPOINTS CONCEPT

Abstract

In this work, the issue of managing the complexity of the division of problems and integrated, systematic software development is considered. The paper describes the complexity of software development as a "many viewpoint problem" and sets the limits within which the problem can be solved. Attempts to reconcile the desired separation of concerns provided by the framework with the integration required for systematic software development are also considered. This alignment is achieved by using multiple perspectives during development, which ensures integration of the methods by which these perspectives are developed.

The paper presents the ViewPoints framework for distributed multi-directional software development, detailing the structural elements of the framework, ViewPoints, and ViewPoint templates. It demonstrates the capabilities of supporting ViewPoint-Oriented Software Engineering (VOSE) and introduces the development of methods within the ViewPoints structure. The study explores how a method is developed and constructed by developers, presenting it as an engineering process that influences how the method is utilized.

A ViewPoint-oriented approach to method development is also proposed. In the context of the ViewPoints framework, methods consist of ViewPoint templates connected by rules between ViewPoints. The role of the method developer involves selecting appropriate ViewPoint templates that constitute the method, and then describing their individual representation styles and working plans. This method development process can also involve the reuse (and typically adaptation) of existing ViewPoint templates.