An approach for classifying design artifacts

Software designers have to deal with a large number of distinct software design artifacts (SDAs), including requirements, patterns, and tactics. This paper proposes a technique that systematizes the classification of SDAs, and a classification scheme (CS) which organizes the SDAs into a matrix, in a manner derived from the Zachman Framework for enterprise architecture. An instantiation of this CS is a traceability matrix called a software-structure map (SSM) that records the SDAs and their relationships. The approach is illustrated through the analysis of the Template Method (TM) design pattern as an example of a SDA. Keywords-software knowledge management, software artifacts, multi-dimension analysis, decision support systems