A Formal Model for Component-Based System Assessment

The selection of a component within a set of possible candidates which offer similar functionalities requires the evaluation of the candidate components using objective methods, the evaluation results helping developers in the selection task. In this article we propose a formal approach concerning component based systems (CBS) assessment. More precisely, we aim to define a quantitative evaluation model which provides a standard terminology and formalism in order to define metrics, to establish the assessment objectives and to interpret the measurement results obtained. Furthermore, the proposed model is general and scalable and allows other properties and interactions to be added. The article also presents the applicability of the model.