Publication
Title
On the interconnection of cross-cutting concerns within hierarchical modular architectures
Author
Abstract
Modularity is often employed to increase the flexibility and adaptability of a system. A well-known issue during the design of modular systems is the emergence of ripple effects propagating throughout the system when one module is changed, which is dependent on other modules within the system. While several techniques or approaches have been proposed to mitigate these effects, they often neglect the integration and interconnection of cross-cutting concerns (i.e., functionalities that are required across different parts of the main functional dimension) within the system. This article argues that the proper integration of cross-cutting concerns is important in order to avoid ripple effects and preserve the adaptability of a modular system. Based on a set of possible integration architectures that offer different alternatives to integrate cross-cutting concerns within a modular structure, we introduce the integration design matrix (IDM) as an instrument to systematically analyze the cross-cutting concern provisioning within specific modular artifacts. A set of design guidelines is proposed to optimize the integration of the cross-cutting concerns, applicable within the context of the IDM. We illustrate our approach by means of examples in several domains. Published in: IEEE Transactions on
Language
English
Source (journal)
IEEE transactions on engineering management. - New York, N.Y.
Publication
New York, N.Y. : 2022
ISSN
0018-9391
DOI
10.1109/TEM.2020.3040227
Volume/pages
69 :6 (2022) , p. 3276-3291
ISI
000879054100063
Full text (Publisher's DOI)
Full text (open access)
Full text (publisher's version - intranet only)
UAntwerpen
Faculty/Department
Research group
Publication type
Subject
Affiliation
Publications with a UAntwerp address
External links
Web of Science
Record
Identifier
Creation 09.12.2020
Last edited 16.05.2025
To cite this reference