Change Proness of Metrics and Classes in Object-Oriented Systems

Object-oriented analysis and design (OOAD) is a software engineering approach that models a system as a group of interacting objects. Each object represents some entity of interest in the system being modeled and is characterized by its class, its state (data elements), and its behavior. Various models can be created to show the static structure, dynamic behavior, and run-time deployment of these collaborating objects. In OOAD the boundary between analysis and design is blurred. One reason for this blurring is the similarity of basic constructs (i.e., objects and classes) that are used in analysis and design. The fundamental difference between OOA and OOD is that OOA models the problem domain, leading to an understanding and specification of the problem, while OOD models the solution to the problem. That is analysis deal with the problem domain, while design deals with the solution domain. However, in OOAD it is believed that the problem domain representation created by OOA is generally subsumed in the solution domain representation. That is, the solution domain representation, created by OOD, generally contains much of the representation created by OOA.