A semantic-based framework for non-functional requirements and design patterns classification

Non-functional requirements (NFRs) play a crucial role in software development also as available choices in decision making procedures for architectural solutions. They often are directly related to design patterns, a powerful method to support the conceptual modeling of system specifications but, due to their complexity and abstraction, they are rarely taken into the proper account in development process. The knowledge on NFRs is usually owned by designers and not formalized in a structured way. We propose a formalization via an ontological language of architectural patterns and non-functional requirements about quality attributes where both the relationships and sequences of patterns and the set non-functional requirements are modelled together with their interactions.