A Formal Method for Evaluation of a Modeled System Architecture

Modeling is a powerful way to represent the desired organization and performance of a particular system and how it will meet the desired system objectives. There is a multitude of modeling methods, but determining whether the completed model effectively represents the desired system organization can be a challenge. System engineers can inspect the modeled system architecture to determine whether it is acceptable, but few formal methods exist to aid in the performance of this task. In practice, engineers apply heuristics and their experience to identify the characteristics of a “good” architecture. By formalizing these characteristics using logical notation, the quality attributes that constitute a “good” system architecture can be quantified and applied to determine the quality of an architectural model. Because these attributes are defined using a general notation, they can be instantiated using many system architecture tools and can be adapted to meet the needs of a specific architectural framework or particular project.