Evaluating Performance of Software Architecture Models with the Palladio Component Model

Background And Related Work

Model-driven performance predictions aim at improving the quality of software architectures during early development stages (Smith et al., (2002)). Software architects use models of such prediction approaches to evaluate the response time, throughput, or resource utilization to be expected after implementing their envisioned design. The prediction model’s evaluation results enable analysing different architectural designs and validate performance-related requirements (such as maximum response times or minimum throughput) of software systems. The advantage of using prediction models instead of testing implementations is the lowered risk to find performance problems in already implemented systems, which require cost-intensive redesigns.

Researchers have put much effort into creating accurate performance prediction models for the last 30 years. Queuing networks, stochastic process algebras, and stochastic Petri nets are the most prominent prediction models from the research community. However, practitioners seldom apply these models due to their complexity and high learning curve. Therefore, focus of the research community has shifted to create more developer-friendly models and use model transformations to bridge the semantic gap to the above mentioned analytical models.