artDECO: Tool Support for Architecture Model Checking in UML

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artDECOTool Support for Architecture Model
Checking in UML

• Petri Selonen
• Tampere University of Technology

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Motivation

• Problems of UML in modeling software architecture
• Problems with UML CASE tools supporting software
  architecture modeling
• Current practise of SW architecture design in
  industry
• architecture described with pictures
• hardly any checking / analysis
• hard to enforce architectural patterns and rules

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(Some) Goals of ART Project

• Using UML profiles to define architectural
  patterns and construction rules Architecture
  Profiles
• Define profile conformance rules for validating
  architecture views against profiles
• Develop tool support for architecture model
  checking
• Customer Nokia Research Center

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Profiles in UML

• Profiles are the way to customize UML for a
  particular domain and/or platform
• Profiles make use of the built-in extension
  mechamisms of UML
• stereotypes metaclasses
• tagged values meta-attributes
• constraints well-formedness rules
• No standard description on how profiles should be
  defined, just a few examples...

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UML Architectural Profiles

• UML profiles are packages dedicated to group UML
  extensions, they are predefined sets of
  stereotypes, tagged values, constraints, and
  icons to support modeling in specific domain.
• UML architecture profiles are "UML profiles that
  defined fundamental architectural concepts,
  styles, and rules for the architecture design of
  a specific system or system family.

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Architecture Model Structure

• Domain Model defines the key concepts and their
  inter-relationships in the application domain.
• Conceptual Profile defines the fundamental
  architectural concepts/types with the UML
  extension mechanism. It specifies the
  architecture style and validation rules with a
  UML conceptual model.
• View Profile conforms to (imports) the
  conceptual profile and adds new concepts and
  validation rules specific to the view.
• System Context Model defines the system border
  and deployment environment.
• Architecture Views a collection of concrete UML
  models that conform to the view profile and
  address certain architectural concerns

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Architecture Model Structure
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Profile Hierarchy
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Defining Profiles (Example)
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Profile Conformance Rules

• Define the relationship between views in a view
  hierarchy and profiles in the profile hierarchy.
• Example Stereotype conformance
• Every stereotype in a view or in a constraint
  profile must be a stereotype defined in a
  stereotype definition profile belonging to the
  profile hierarchy. Every class must have a
  stereotype.
• Other conformance rules relationship,
  multiplicity, implied existence, composition,
  interface, feature, link correspondence...

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artDECO implementation
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Concluding remarks

• Using UML for architecture design is not
  straightforward
• Manual checking is VERY tedious, methods and
  tools are necessary
• A prototype tool implementation exists
• Initial case studies are being performed, a
  larger one expected in 2003
• More information available at http//practise.cs.t
  ut.fi