I've always found the arguments in this paper so bizarre that when reading it I have to constantly keep reminding myself that in the 80s this nonsense must have seemed like a practical way forward. (Parnas in particular was one of the giants of software engineering research.) I wrote a piece about it a few years back:

http://www.zerobanana.com/essays/rational-design/

Another good take on it:

http://www.leanessays.com/2010/11/rational-design-process-it...