Abstract: A software tool or framework for designing a software architecture is described. The tool consists of three broad components: a series of data channels, multiple global states, and a software architecture maintainer which performs as a scheduler and “switchboard” for the architecture. The architecture maintainer communicates with modules in a collection of modules using the multiple data channels and also stores global states data. The tool is configured such that a module only receives data via a data channel for which the module has registered. A module will not receive data on a data channel, nor will the maintainer send data on a data channel, for which the module is not registered. The module also has one or more relevant global states. The software tool of the present invention enables modification of the behavior of a module during the runtime of the module.