An approach to automated software design based on product metrics

Recent research has attempted to quantify the quality of a software design in terms of measurable properties. A weakness of this research is that it ignores the fact that software design involves the exploration of alternative software architectures. An approach to software design selection is described which involves examining a design solution space. It relies on the formulation of the problem of selecting software designs in operational research terms. The paper concludes with a description of a software tool based on the approach