Decision Support for Selecting Blockchain-Based Application Design Patterns With Layered Taxonomy and Quality Attributes

Yanze Wang, Yiling Huang, Jingyue Li, Shanshan Li, He Zhang, Jun Lyu, Chenxing Zhong, Xiaodong Liu, Bohan Liu, Yue Liu, Qinghua Lu, Xin Zhou

Abstract: Background: Along with the rapid development and widespread adoption of blockchain technology, many common practices have been summarized into blockchain-based design patterns for application development. However, the numerous and scattered patterns may cause confusion among practitioners. Therefore, adopting appropriate patterns to meet various requirements has become a major challenge, as it requires deep development experience and blockchain technology knowledge. Objective: To address this problem, this paper proposes a decision-support solution to assist with the selection of design patterns during the blockchain-based application development, including a layered taxonomy of design patterns, mappings of quality attributes with the patterns, and a decision model incorporating the taxonomy and mappings. Method: We collected 72 distinct and state-of-the-art design patterns via a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) to establish a layered taxonomy, and 18 unified quality attribute metrics were proposed for blockchain-based pattern assessment and mapping establishment. Based on the pattern taxonomy and quality attribute mappings, we developed a decision model that can provide intuitive guidance for pattern selection. Results: The proposed solution was evaluated through a case study in a seafood supply chain, in which we examined how well the decision model could help identify design flaws and provide reasonable solutions. Additionally, interviews and a questionnaire-based survey were conducted to measure the completeness, correctness, and usefulness of the proposed decision model. The evaluation results indicate that the proposed decision-support solution provides developers with comprehensive guidance, facilitates targeted decision making, and supports intuitive understanding. Conclusions: Our decision-support solution can improve the development efficiency of blockchain-based applications, especially in addressing potential design flaws, achieving targeted quality attributes, and reducing development costs.