1 / 12

Evolving Software Architectures with Argo: A Tool for Improved Design Understanding

Argo is an innovative tool designed to aid in the development of software architectures, particularly emphasizing the C2-style architecture. It supports designers by providing dynamic manipulation editors, real-time feedback through critics, and a To-Do list for managing design tasks without disruption. By integrating theories of cognitive needs, Argo facilitates a better understanding of complex software systems, enabling architects to visualize multiple perspectives and refine their designs collaboratively. This tool represents a significant step towards enhancing the design process and addressing the cognitive challenges faced by software architects.

pooky
Download Presentation

Evolving Software Architectures with Argo: A Tool for Improved Design Understanding

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Argo: A Tool for Evolving Software Architectures Jason E. RobbinsDavid M. HilbertDavid F. Redmiles Information and Computer Science Dept. University of California at Irvine

  2. Overview • Quick Tour of Argo • Motivation • Underlying Theories • Demo of Argo Features and Why They are Useful • Argo’s Architecture • Related Work • Conclusions • Availability

  3. Quick Tour of Argo • Direct manipulation editor for C2 style software architectures • Critics continuously analyze architecture • To Do List presents feedback without interrupting the architect • Simple process model used as a resource • Perspectives divide complexity of design

  4. Motivation • Design is a cognitively challenging task • Design knowledge is diverse, heuristic, tacit • Design decisions are interdependent, and made over extended periods of time • Software systems are difficult to understand and communicate to others • Software architecture as the “Big Picture”

  5. Underlying Theories of Designers’ Cognitive Needs • We have tried to identify what makes design challenging for people • Design feedback: Reflection-in-Action [Schoen] • Design process support: Opportunistic Design [Guindon] • Design perspectives: Comprehension and Problem Solving [Kintsch] • We have specialized and applied these theories to software architecture

  6. Design Feedback — Reflection-in-Acton • Observation: Designers work through the design • Designers rarely produce a design fully formed • Incrementally frame a partial design; evaluate it; revise • Suggested requirements on design environments • Support the designer in framing a partial solution • Support the designer in evaluating it • Integrate manipulation and analysis • Support in Argo: Editors, Critics, To Do List

  7. Design Process Support - Opportunistic Design • Observation: Designers deviate from prespecified processes • Emerging issues change the design process • Cognitive costs explain some task reorderings • Suggested requirements on design environments • Provide process models as resources • Use process models to keep design feedback timely • Support in Argo: First-class process model, To Do List

  8. Design Perspectives — Comprehension and Problem Solving • Observation: Designers use multiple mental models • Work through successive levels of refinement • Restructure their thinking to address different issues • Suggested requirements on design environments • Present multiple perspectives to match mental models • Help maintain mappings between mental models • Support in Argo: Multiple coordinated design perspectives, customizable visualizations

  9. Argo’s Own Architecture

  10. Related Work • Software architecture tools • Aesop, DaTE • Design environments • Janus, Framer, VDDE • Process models • Endeavors, OZ, IDEF-0 • Visualization with multiple perspectives • OBPE, Explainer, 4+1 Views

  11. Conclusions • Design tools should support designer’s cognitive needs • We have examined three theories of cognitive needs and prototyped features that support them • We have implemented a domain-independent design environment infrastructure that can be applied to multiple domains

  12. Availability • Informal demo’s at the UCI booth at ICSE • Argo + ArchShell: Direct Manipulation Dynamic Architecture • http://www.ics.uci.edu/pub/arch • On-line demo of Argo • Java source code and documentation • GEF, Argo’s visualization framework

More Related