Problem Frames Approach - Similar Approaches

Similar Approaches

There are a few other software development ideas that are similar in some ways to problem analysis.

• The notion of a design pattern is similar to Jackson's notion of a problem frame. It differs in that a design pattern is used for recognizing and handling design issues (often design issues in specific object-oriented programming languages such as C++ or Java) rather than for recognizing and handling requirements issues. Furthermore one difference is that design patterns cover solutions while in problem frames problems are represented.
• Aspect-oriented programming, AOP (also known as aspect-oriented software development, AOSD) is similarly interested in parallel decomposition, which addresses what AOP proponents call cross-cutting concerns or aspects. AOP addresses concerns that are much closer to the design and code-generation phase than to the requirements analysis phase.
• Martin Fowler's book Analysis Patterns is very similar to problem analysis in its search for patterns. It doesn't really present a new requirements analysis method, however. And the notion of parallel decomposition — which is so important for problem analysis — is not a part of Fowler's analysis patterns.
• Jon G. Hall, Lucia Rapanotti, together with Jackson, have developed the Problem Oriented Software Engineering (POSE) framework which shares the problem frames foundations. Since, 2005, Hall and Rapanotti have extended POSE to Problem Oriented Engineering (POE), which provides a framework for engineering design, including a development process model and assurance-driven design, and may be scalable to projects that include many stake-holders and that combine diverse engineering disciplines such as software and education provision.