  A cognitive handoff is a multipurpose handoff that achieves many desirable
features simultaneously; e.g., seamlessness, autonomy, security, correctness,
adaptability, etc. But, the development of cognitive handoffs is a challenging
task that has not been properly addressed in the literature. In this paper, we
discuss the difficulties of developing cognitive handoffs and propose a new
model-driven methodology for their systematic development. The theoretical
framework of this methodology is the holistic approach, the functional
decomposition method, the model-based design paradigm, and the theory of design
as scientific problem-solving. We applied the proposed methodology and obtained
the following results: (i) a correspondence between handoff purposes and
quantitative environment information, (ii) a novel taxonomy of handoff mobility
scenarios, and (iii) an original state-based model representing the functional
behavior of the handoff process.
