Modelling design methods for quality

A metamethod for modelling design methods that meet quality requirements is proposed and an example is described. The chosen example is MetaASSO, the approach employed to define a modular design of a methodology of conceptual database design, named ASSO. MetaASSO consists of a sequence of method proposals. The motivations which supports the proposals are described and the following modules, called methodological tools, are introduced: Structured Database Schema, conceptual model designed to specify information with flexibility while guaranteeing consistency; Revisited Partitioning, method designed to refine the Structured Database Schema towards correct and efficient implementations; Relations between ASSO and B, approach of translation proposed to link a methodology designed at conceptual level with a formal method designed at a lower abstraction level. This approach makes it easy to deal with ASSO and the methodological tools. Features of ASSO can therefore be reused to design an ASSO-toolkit based on the B-toolkit that performs the proof process at a low cost.