Applying Concept Analysis for Design Improvement

In the practice of software analysis very few formal processes have been put to use. Success of most of the activites is dependent on the analysts’ understanding and interpretation. Especially areas like requirement analysis, class/object identification and class hierarchy design are plagued by evils of not having formal techniques. Formal Concept Analysis has presented itself as a good candidate for developing formal techniques for these activities. This report describes the theory of Formal Concept Analysis. We then get an insight into the use of Formal Concept Analysis for the various activities during software design phase. The report also surveys the applicaton of Formal Concept Analysis to different phases of software engineering.