Session:Architecture Design I--Paper Preview
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Tool support for Architectural Decisions
Anton Jansen, Jan van der Ven, Paris Avergiou, Dieter Hammer
In contrast to software architecture models, architectural decisions are often not explicitly documented, and therefore eventually lost. This contributes to major problems such as high-cost system evolution, stakeholders miscommunication, and limited reusability of core system assets. An approach is outlined that systematically and semiautomatically documents architectural decisions and allows them to be effectively shared by the stakeholders. A first attempt is presented that partially implements the approach by binding architectural decisions, models and the system implementation. The approach is demonstrated with an example demonstrating its usefulness with regards to some industrial use cases.
Do Architecture Design Methods Meet Architects’ Needs?
Davide Falessi
Several Software Architecture Design Methods (SADM) have been published, reviewed, and compared. But these surveys and comparisons are mostly centered on intrinsic elements of the design method, and they do not compare them from the perspective of the actual needs of software architects. We would like to analyze the completeness of SADM from an architect’s point of view. To do so, we define nine categories of software architects’ needs, propose an ordinal scale for evaluating the degree to which a given SADM meets the needs, and then apply this to a small set of SADMs. The contribution of the paper is twofold: (i) to provide a different and useful frame of reference for architects to select SADM, and (ii) to suggest SADM areas of improvements. We found two answers to our question: “do architectural design methods meet the needs of the architect?” Yes, all architect’s needs are met by one or another SADM, but No, no architectural design method meets simultaneously all the needs of an architect. This approach may lead to improvements of existing SADMs.
A Framework for the Assessment and Selection of Software Components and Connectors in COTS-based Architectures
Jesal Bhuta, Chris Mattmann, Nenad Medvidovic, Barry Boehm
Software systems today are composed from prefabricated commercial components and connectors that provide complex functionality and engage in complex interactions. Unfortunately, because of the distinct assumptions made by developers of these products, successfully integrating them into a software system can be complicated, often causing budget and schedule overruns. A number of integration risks can often be resolved by selecting the ‘right’ set of COTS components and connectors that can be integrated with minimal effort. In this paper we describe a framework for selecting COTS software components and connectors ensuring their interoperability in softwareintensive systems. Our framework is built upon standard definitions of both COTS components and connectors and is intended for use by architects and developers during the design phase of a software system. We highlight the utility of our framework using a challenging example from the data-intensive systems domain. Our preliminary experience in using the framework indicates an increase in interoperability assessment productivity by 50% and accuracy by 20%.
