Reducing Uncertainty in Architectural Decisions with AADL

A model-driven approach to real-time software systems development enables the conceptualization of software, fostering a more thorough understanding of its often complex architecture and behavior and promoting the documentation and analysis of concerns common to real-time embedded systems such as scheduling, resource allocation, and performance. Key architectural decisions can be made early in the development lifecycle by analyzing quantifiable quality attributes related to these concerns. Two modeling notations, the Architectural Analysis and Design Language (AADL) and the Unified Modeling Language Profile for Modeling and Analysis of Real-Time Embedded Systems (MARTE), are domain specific notations with the capacity to analyze these concerns. However, MARTE is not mature, to the point where its existing formalisms have been adopted into wide tool support. Furthermore, the inherent ambiguity of UML makes analysis in MARTE difficult. As a declarative language, AADL provides an adopted, formal analysis framework that meets this need. AADL can be used to augment MARTE in modeling software systems and provide the formal mechanisms for conducting quality analyses, helping to reduce uncertainty in architectural decisions.