Domain analysis for software reuse

A theory of domain knowledge is proposed that consists of 'grounded domains ' that model a set of cooperating objects that achieve a purpose. Grounded domains have spatial presence in the real world and contain agents that act on objects within a context of structures. More complex mete-domains use g rounded domains as their subject matter and describe education, management, etc. The third component of the theory, generic tasks, describes problem s olving activity such as diagnosis, searching, planning and scheduling. Gene ric tasks describe the behavioural components in both grounded and meta-dom ains. The reusable library of generic models is applied to the design of in teractive systems by reusing the models as templates, and to reuse design k nowledge in the form of associated design rationale. A process for recognis ing generic models is described with recognition heuristics structured in a walkthrough type of analysis for identifying key abstractions in new appli cations. The design process is illustrated with an information retrieval ca se study developed as a decision support system for emergency management, r eusing information searching services. The discussion reviews the prospects for reusable patterns in interactive systems design, and similar approache s in software and knowledge engineering. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.