Hierarchical rule design with HaDEs the HeKatE toolchain

A hierarchical approach to decision rule design in the HeKatE project is introduced in the paper. Within this approach a rule prototyping method ARD+ is presented. It offers a high-level hierarchical prototyping of decision rules. The method allows to identify all properties of the system being designed, and using the algorithm presented in this paper, it allows to automatically build rule prototypes. A practical implementation of the prototyping algorithm is discussed and a design example is also presented. Using the rule prototypes actual rules can be designed in the logical design stage. The design process itself is supported by HaDEs, a set of design tools developed within the project.