Verdickt et al. discuss a model transformation framework based on generic middleware, which can be semi-automatically mapped into more concrete middleware using a transformation algorithm. The transformed model can then be used to acquire the performance models. The performance models can then be used to evaluate the performance requirements of a system. To show the applicability of their work, the authors conducted a case study using an online store that utilizes common object request broker architecture (CORBA) middleware.

The main contributions of this work revolve around the performance-engineering framework, consisting of two transformations: the transformation of unified modeling language (UML)-independent middleware to UML-dependent middleware (a model-driven architecture/platform-specific model (MDA/PSM)), and the transformation of MDA/PSM to layered queuing network (LQN) to evaluate the performance requirements of distributed object-oriented software systems.

The main benefit of this approach is that it reuses existing facilities and tools offered by both UML/MDA and LQN. The main liabilities of this work include the need for two levels of mapping, and dependence on the expert, as the approach is not fully automated yet. Moreover, to generalize from the results of this work, additional case studies are needed.

The paper is well written and well organized. I recommend it to software architects. The paper would also be a great reference for students interested in architectural trade-off and performance analysis.