An expert system for suggesting design patterns: A methodology and a prototype

Software design patterns describe simple and elegant solutions to specific design problems. They capture design knowledge that has been discovered, evolved over time: and proven to be effective in solving design problems. Their use is rapidly increasing since they improve software productivity and quality. However, it is not an easy task to choose an appropriate pattern from among the plethora of patterns. This is partly due to the learning curve involved to understand what each pattern can do. We present a methodology for constructing expert systems that can suggest design patterns to solve a designers design problems. The methodology details the knowledge acquisition, knowledge representation and expert system implementation activities. It is illustrated through the prototyping of the E&barbelow;xpert S&barbelow;ystem for S&barbelow;uggesting D&barbelow;esign P&barbelow;atterns (ESSDP). Evaluation of the ESSDP by subjects other than the original developers indicates that the system indeed could suggest the needed design patterns effectively.