Lessons from industrial design for software engineering through constraints identification, solution space optimisation and reuse

Besnard, D; Lawrie, AT

doi:10.1145/508791.508933

Lessons from industrial design for software engineering through constraints identification, solution space optimisation and reuse

Lookup NU author(s): Dr Denis Besnard, Anthony Lawrie

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Abstract

Design is a complex activity that can be analysed from a wide variety of perspectives. This paper attempts to get into the details of this particular problem solving process, taking into account psychological arguments. We characterise some of the phases involved in the design process, namely the constraints identification, the optimisation of solution space and the reuse process. We highlight a three-dimensional framework of how the constraints identification impacts on the solution space which, in turn, determines the range of the components that will be eligible for reuse. We discuss this argument through examples from both inside and outside the software engineering field. We then consider how our conception can describe successful designs and conclude by briefly looking at reuse as a general design policy.