Lattix LDM: A Lightweight Dependency Model to Manage Software Architecture

We will demonstrate an approach based on Dependency Structure Matrix (DSM), which uses inter-module dependencies to specify and manage the architecture of software systems. The matrix representation is concise, intuitive and appears to overcome scaling problems that are commonly associated with directed graph representations. It also permits succinct definition of design rules to specify allowable dependencies. We will use a tool, Lattix LDM, to load actual open source Java applications to create DSMs that can represent systems with thousands of classes. We will show how algorithms can be applied to organize the matrix in a form that reflects the architecture and highlights problematic dependencies. We will demonstrate how design rules can be used to specify and enforce architectural patterns such as layering and componentization. This demonstration is based on joint work on dependency models[1]. 1