Identification of Framework Hot Spots Using Pattern Languages

One of the major factors that brings complexity to framework development is the identification of its hot spots, i.e., the framework parts that must be kept flexible as they are specific of individual systems. In this paper we show that pattern languages can be important sources for framework hot spots identification and, consequently, can be used for framework construction. We define the types of hot spots that are identifiable from information presented in the elements of each pattern of the pattern language. We propose also a process for hot spots identification and present a case study for identifying the hot spots of a framework built based on a pattern language for business resource management.