Aspect-Oriented Thinking

A problem situation can be defined as an environment in which humans, man-made and natural systems interact in ways that are considered unsatisfactory by one or more of the humans involved. In order to make effective improvements within a problem situation, expertise and knowledge from multiple disciplines is often required.

Aspect-Oriented Thinking is a proposal that provides a way for people from diverse disciplines and backgrounds to combine their knowledge and expertise to improve complex problem situations including those that involve the environment and large-scale man-made artefacts such as software-intensive systems. The approach starts with the development and verification of a set of "domain models" that each represent a separate and autonomous aspect of a problem situation. These models are developed by people from diverse disciplines using languages and techniques of their choosing. Completed domain models are then "woven" together, in accordance with a set of separately developed patterns, to produce the systems, including models and simulations, required to understand and improve an entire problem situation. These systems, by way of their development, incorporate the multi-disciplinary knowledge and expertise required to make properly considered and sustainable improvements.