Describing An Analysis Pattern
While doing Analysis we are trying to understand the problem.Fowler does not detail in his book a formal way to write or to describe analysis patterns. Suggestions have been raised since to have a consistent and uniform format for describing them. Most of them are based on the work from Erich Gamma, Frank Buschmann and Christopher Alexander on patterns (in architecture or computer science). One of them, proposed by Hahsler, has the following structure:
- Pattern name: a pattern name should really reflect the meaning of what it is abstracting. It should be simple so that one can refer to it during analysis.
- Intent: the intent aims to describe the goal the pattern is trying to achieve. It should also describe the problem it tries to solve.
- Motivation: "A scenario that illustrates the problem and how the analysis pattern contributes to the solution in the concrete scenario"
- Forces and context: "Discussion of forces and tensions which should be resolved by the analysis pattern"
- Solution: "Description of solution and of the balance of forces achieved by the analysis pattern in the scenario in the motivation section. Includes all relevant structural and behavioural aspects of the analysis pattern."
- Consequences: this should emphasise how the goal is achieved by the analysis pattern with its limitation.
- Design: Suggestions of design implementations of this pattern.
- Known uses: Real world examples of this pattern usage.
There are two main tasks where analysis pattern is used in software development process.They are as follows:
- Analysis pattern suggest design patterns and reliable solutions for common problems and it facilitates the transformation of the analysis model into a design model.
- Analysis patterns develop the abstract analysis models as early as possible.These models capture the main requirements of the concrete problem by providing reusable analysis models with examples as well as a description of advantages and limitations.
Read more about this topic: Software Analysis Pattern
Famous quotes containing the words describing, analysis and/or pattern:
“A family with the wrong members in control—that, perhaps, is as near as one can come to describing England in a phrase.”
—George Orwell (1903–1950)
“... the big courageous acts of life are those one never hears of and only suspects from having been through like experience. It takes real courage to do battle in the unspectacular task. We always listen for the applause of our co-workers. He is courageous who plods on, unlettered and unknown.... In the last analysis it is this courage, developing between man and his limitations, that brings success.”
—Alice Foote MacDougall (1867–1945)
“His talent was as natural as the pattern that was made by the dust on a butterfly’s wings. At one time he understood it no more than the butterfly did and he did not know when it was brushed or marred. Later he became conscious of his damaged wings and of their construction and he learned to think and could not fly any more because the love of flight was gone and he could only remember when it had been effortless.”
—Ernest Hemingway (1899–1961)