Component-based software engineering

Component-based software engineering (CBSE), also called component-based development (CBD), is a style of software engineering that aims to construct a software system from components that are loosely-coupled and reusable. This emphasizes the separation of concerns among components.

To find the right level of component granularity, software architects have to continuously iterate their component designs with developers. Architects need to take into account user requirements, responsibilities and architectural characteristics.

Considerations


For large-scale systems developed by large teams, a disciplined culture and process is required to achieve the benefits of CBSE. Third-party components are often utilized in large systems.

The system can be designed visually with the Unified Modeling Language (UML). Each component is shown as a rectangle, and an interface is shown as a lollipop to indicate a provided interface and as a socket to indicate consumption of an interface.

Component-based usability testing is for components that interact with the end user.