Domain Engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with building reusable assets, such as specification sets, patterns, and components, in specific domains. A domain in this context can be defined as an area of knowledge that uses common concepts for describing phenomena, requirements, problems, capabilities, and solutions. The purpose of domain engineering is to identify, model, construct, catalog, and disseminate artifacts that represent the commonalities and differences within a domain. Nowadays, although having slightly different origins, both domain engineering methods and domain specific languages (DSL) receive special attention from the information systems and software engineering communities. The reasons for the increased level of interest include: the need to manage increasing requirements for variability of information and software systems (intrinsic complexity relating to variability in customer requirements), the need to minimize accidental complexity when modeling the variability of a domain, and the need to obtain, formalize, and share expertise in different, evolving domains.
Domain engineering deals with two main layers: the domain layer, which deals with the representation of domain elements, and the application layer, which deals with software applications and information systems artifacts. In other words, programs, applications, or systems are included in the application layer, whereas their common and variable characteristics, as can be described, for example, by patterns, ontology, or emerging standards, are generalized and presented in the domain layer.
Similarly to information systems engineering, domain engineering includes three main activities: domain analysis, domain design, and domain implementation, which are carried out in the domain layer. However, domain engineering also supports inter-layer activities, namely interactions that exist between the domain and application layers. Specifically, domain layer artifacts may be used for creation and validation of the specifications of application layer artifacts, while applications may be generalized into domain artifacts in a process of knowledge elicitation.
Domain engineering as a discipline has practical significance as it can provide methods and techniques that may help reduce time-to-market, product cost, and projects risks on one hand, and help improve product quality and performance on a consistent basis on the other hand.
The purpose of this workshop is to bring together researchers and practitioners in the area of domain engineering in order to identify possible points of synergy, common problems and solutions, and visions for the future of the area. Furthermore, the workshop will promote the main conference theme by introducing domain engineering approaches and utilizing them to the fullest in order to create valid and coherent applications.
| Submissions: | February 15, 2010 |
| Notification: | March 22, 2010 |
| Event: | June 8, 2010-March 8, 2010 |