We give an axiomatic deenition of the basic structure, called a class dictionary graph, used by object-oriented designers and programmers during the software development process. The contributions of this paper are twofold: An axiomatic foundation for object-oriented data modeling and eecient algorithms for checking whether a given data model satisses the axioms. The presented data model is the...

This paper discusses the validation of design methods. The challenges and opportunities in validation are illustrated by drawing an analogy to medical research and development. Specific validation practices such as clinical studies and use of models of human disease are discussed, including specific ways to adapt them to engineering design. The implications are explored for three active areas o...

A design decomposition-integration model, named COPE, is proposed in which Axiomatic Design Matrices (DM) map Functional Requirements to Design Parameters while Design Structure Matrices (DSM) provide structured representation of the system development context. In COPE, the DM and the DSM co-evolve. Traversing between the two types of matrices allows for some control in the application of the s...

Once the conceptual overview, in terms of a somewhat informal class diagram, has been designed in the course of engineering an ontology, the process of adding many of the appropriate logical axioms is mostly a routine task. We provide a Protégé plugin which supports this task, together with a visual user interface, based on established methods for ontology design pattern modeling.