EXPERT SYSTEM FOR SOFTWARE DESIGN ANALYSIS

THIS RESEARCH EFFORT WILL IDENTIFY A SET OF ANALYSES THAT WILL PROVIDE OBJECTIVE MEASURES AND ASSESSMENTS OF SOFTWARE DESIGNS. THE RESULTING ASSESSMENTS WILL PROVIDE VALUABLE INPUT TO GOVERNMENT AND CONTRACTOR PERSONNEL DURING THE TOP-LEVEL AND DETAILED DESIGN PHASES OF SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS, AND AT THE PRELIMINARY AND CRITICAL DESIGN REVIEWS. THE MEASURES AND ASSESSMENTS RESULTING FROM THE ANALYSES WILL BE PROVIDED IN THE FORM OF OBJECTIVELY DETERMINABLE SOFTWARE DESIGN METRICS. EMPHASIS WILL BE PLACED ON METRICS THAT ARE APPROPRIATE FOR REAL-TIME AND MULTIPROCESSOR APPLICATIONS. METRICS THAT CAN BE OBTAINED EARLY IN THE DESIGN PROCESS, AND WHICH CAN BE USED TO PREDICT LATER LIFE CYCLE COSTS AND QUALITY WILL BE OF PARTICULAR INTEREST. THE UNDERLYING THEME OF THE APPROACH WILL BE AUTOMATION OF THE IDENTIFIED ANALYSES USING A COMBINATION OF EXISTING TECHNIQUES AND TOOLS, INCLUDING EXPERT SYSTEMS TECHNOLOGY. A PROTOTYPE AUTOMATED ANALYSIS TOOL WILL BE DEVELOPED AS PART OF THE RESEARCH EFFORT.