Aspect

An aspect is a special block variant that cannot be represented by cardinality or polymorphism and is located in the top level of a class. The advantage of an aspect as opposed to a block is the aspect’s universal use in a random number of classes without being a direct part of a class. Consequently, it is not subject to any product specific restrictions.

An aspect, therefore, does not describe the product specific property itself (like ordinary blocks and class properties), but it includes properties for that class under certain conditions or additional properties for a class under certain point of views.

Definition of an aspect: Approach, method of approach, point of view of a product or service or a part of a product or service

• in relation to a given situation,
• from a certain point, from a certain direction
• or at a certain angle

An aspect describes the characteristics of a specific context of a product or service.

• NOTE 1: The meaning of a property is partly derived from the object reference. A property can be used in an aspect, an application class and / or in a block, each provided that the definition remains valid. The multiple use within the same structural element is not allowed.
• NOTE 2: Sub-lists of properties are created as blocks.
• NOTE 3: An aspect's property is not a property of the entire product or service or any part of the product or service.
• NOTE 4: Aspects do not describe characteristics of a product or service and are therefore not properties. Aspects contain a specific information about a product or service.
• NOTE 5: Aspects are not referenced by reference properties.
• NOTE 6: Aspects can always be assigned more than one application class.

Properties that describe the requirements for a device, are a typical aspect of a device. For instance, our “car” example might have a “manufacturer” aspect. This aspect includes properties such as manufacturer’s name, manufacturer’s article number, model description etc. These properties depend directly on the manufacturer and are not subject to any product specific restrictions.

Another example is the aspect “Operating conditions”. It describes under which conditions the car is to be operated: Central Europe, the Arctic or desert. The resulting properties, however, such as minimum starting temperature or operational altitude are properties of the “car” class and block elements!

Examples: