Steel threads: Software engineering constructs for defining, designing and developing software system architecture

Issue title: Special Supplement Issue in Section A and B: Selected Papers from the ISCA International Conference on Software Engineering and Data Engineering, 2011

Guest editors: Narayan C. Debnath

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Alkobaisi, Shayma^a | Bae, Wan D.^{b; *} | Narayanappa, Sada^c | Debnath, Narayan^d

Affiliations: [a] Faculty of Information Technology, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain, UAE | [b] Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Science, University of Wisconsin-Stour, WI, USA | [c] Engineering Process and Operations, Jeppesen, Inc, Englewood, CO, USA | [d] Computer Science Department, Winona State University, Winona, MN, USA | Department of Computer Science, Winona State University, Winona, MN, USA

Correspondence: [*] Corresponding author: Wan D. Bae, Statistics and Computer Science, University of Wisconsin-Stout, 231F Jarvis Hall Science Wing Menomonie, WI 54051, USA. E-mail: [email protected].

Abstract: A steel thread is a software engineering construct that identifies the most important execution paths, including software and hardware elements, through a computer system, while meeting business objectives and demonstrating executable architecture. Steel threads are often used in the context of defining software system architecture. Although there have been references to steel threads in software engineering literature, it is hard to find clear definitions and usage of steel threads in the software industry or among the research community. This paper provides an overview of steel threads in software architecture design and development as well as presenting the contexts of steel threads. In addition, we show how to identify important scenarios and execution paths to construct steel threads and discuss the contexts under which steel threads are applicable in the software development life cycle. We also discuss the roles of steel threads in system development as well as their usability and applicability. Finally, a case study of the use of steel threads in a software system is presented.

Keywords: Steel threads, software architecture, use cases, scenarios, model-driven software development, agile development

DOI: 10.3233/JCM-2012-0437

Journal: Journal of Computational Methods in Sciences and Engineering, vol. 12, no. s1, pp. S63-S77, 2012