‘Design models’ from software design methods

Abstract Much of the difficulty underlying the development of large software-based systems arises from the complex and abstract nature of software itself, and nowhere is this more evident than in the problems encountered in seeking to establish systematic procedures for designing software. This paper first examines the properties of software and the design practices that are involved in its development, considering in particular how software design methods seek to systemize these. We then introduce the use of what we have termed the D-matrix as a means of describing ‘software design models’, and employ this to explore the forms of the models that are developed by following the procedures of a number of well-established software design methods. We conclude by reviewing these models and considering the factors that limit the practices that can be used in such methods, as well as the extent to which the more recently developed design methods can minimize their effects.