A quality attribute, in systems engineering, is a non-functional requirement. You can think of it as an adjective that describe a system. Consider information virtual goods and the different kinds of deals we’re presented with [1]. One major design pattern is that a group of people gather information, concentrate it into a single artifact, and distribute it. You pay attention to that artifact. In exchange, a portion of your attention is sold to yet another group of people who are willing to pay for that attention. Those artifacts in the 20th century included: the newspaper, the magazine, the radio broadcast, the news reel, the 30 minute, 60 minute, and 24 hour linear television newscast format. Towards the end of the[…]