From requirements to software design: An automated solution for packaging software classes

This paper presents a unique and practical study toward automating analysis and design of software. In this work, we have automated generation of package diagrams in software design process. We have employed a clustering algorithm, and have defined a similarity measure for packaging classes of the software. The similarity measure is defined in a way to increase the cohesion and decrease the coupling between the packages. The process of moving from requirement to design is traditionally done through an ad-hoc process. Although the criterion for a good design is well-defined in software engineering for different system architectures, the design of the system is only as good as the design choices of the engineers. Therefore having a systematic solution which recommends design choices based on system requirements is highly desirable and it leads to increasing the quality of software as well as saving in cost and time. The Applicability of our solution is demonstrated using a case study of an elevator control system.