Specifying and validating structural constraints of analysis class models using OCL

Analysis modeling focuses on functional requirements and postpone implementation specific issues until subsequent design activities are undertaken. Based on the analysis models, the design activities are performed by refining and clarifying the analysis models. Thus, the quality of analysis models has a vast impact on the design models. Therefore, much effort should be taken to build correct analysis models.In this paper, we propose structural constraints that analysis class models of information systems should satisfy, and describe an OCL-based approach to validating the analysis class models against the constraints. In addition, through a case study with four medium-sized industrial information systems, we find that the proposed approach can help to identify deficiencies in analysis models.