A Model-Based Approach to Impact Analysis Using Model Differencing
This addresses software evolution challenges for developers by providing a formalized method to manage changes, but it is incremental as it builds on existing model-based techniques.
The paper tackles the problem of identifying consequences of changes in model-based software development by proposing a model-based approach using explicit impact rules in a DSL and automatic model differencing, validated through a case study.
Impact analysis is concerned with the identification of consequences of changes and is therefore an important activity for software evolution. In modelbased software development, models are core artifacts, which are often used to generate essential parts of a software system. Changes to a model can thus substantially affect different artifacts of a software system. In this paper, we propose a modelbased approach to impact analysis, in which explicit impact rules can be specified in a domain specific language (DSL). These impact rules define consequences of designated UML class diagram changes on software artifacts and the need of dependent activities such as data evolution. The UML class diagram changes are identified automatically using model differencing. The advantage of using explicit impact rules is that they enable the formalization of knowledge about a product. By explicitly defining this knowledge, it is possible to create a checklist with hints about development steps that are (potentially) necessary to manage the evolution. To validate the feasibility of our approach, we provide results of a case study.