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A Rationale-based Model for Architecture Design Reasoning

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4.2 AREL <strong>Model</strong> Tracing<br />

AREL model tracing can be used to help architects retrieve specific parts of the<br />

AREL model <strong>for</strong> traceability purposes. When this option is selected, the AREL tool<br />

would first check that the AREL model is correct be<strong>for</strong>e the trace menu is<br />

displayed. A message is shown at the bottom of the menu window to indicate that<br />

the checking is in progress (i.e. The message is Processing…). A window showing<br />

a summary of the errors and warnings would be displayed. Users should click OK<br />

to close the window after viewing the in<strong>for</strong>mation.<br />

The model checking ensures that the trace would not end up in an infinite cycle<br />

should the AREL model had an error such as a cyclic model. If the model is<br />

consistent, then the traceability screen would be displayed (Figure 6) to specify<br />

trace criteria.<br />

Figure 6 – AREL trace specification screen<br />

This screen is used <strong>for</strong> specifying the trace criteria. The user has to input a valid<br />

architecture element (AE) name. As shown in the diagram above, this name must<br />

be identical to what is stored in the EAP file.<br />

Next, the user has to specify the Element Type and the Element Subtype. These two<br />

categories specify what types of AEs to be retrieved.<br />

There are four different viewpoint types classified in AREL: Business, In<strong>for</strong>mation,<br />

Application and Technology. Each of them specifies a perspective of the<br />

architecture. There are five sub-viewpoints in the Business Viewpoint, they specify<br />

different types of drivers which motivate the creation of an architecture. These sub-<br />

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