Using UML for Modelling Cross-Cutting Concerns in Aspect Oriented Software Engineering

This paper discusses the use of UML artefacts to model cross-cutting concerns in Web application development. The concept of aspect-oriented design is discussed in the context of separating concerns for the development of Web based applications. Current approaches in the use of UML diagrams to support aspect-oriented design are discussed and evaluated in terms of their ability to support the specification, change, maintenance, testing and reuse of aspects during requirements elicitation and throughout the software engineering life cycle. An approach based on UML activity diagrams is proposed, discussed and evaluated. This approach focuses on the use of "swim lanes" for capturing business requirements and the use of "pluggable" business rules to capture and separate aspects within the overall business process.