Non-Functional Modeling and Validation in Model-Driven Architecture

Software models are, in most cases, considered as functional abstractions of systems. They represent the backbone of transformational processes aimed at code generation. On the other end, modeling is a traditional activity in the field of non-functional validation of software/hardware systems, although non-functional models found on different notations (such as Petri Nets) and embed additional information (such as the operational profile) with respect to software models. In this paper we widen the scope of model-driven architecture by introducing a Non-Functional-MDA framework that, beside the typical model transformations for code generation, embeds new types of model transformations that allow to generate non-functional models. For an uniform integration of these practices, we define Platform Independent/Specific Models in the non-functional domain.