Applying empirical software engineering to software architecture: challenges and lessons learned

• Main Authors: Falessi, Davide, Babar, Muhammad Ali, Cantone, Giovanni, Kruchten, Philippe
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 21-01-2017
• Subjects: Computer Science - Software Engineering
• DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.1701.06000

Empirical Software Engineering Journal, 15(3): pp. 250-276, 2010 In the last 15 years, software architecture has emerged as an important
software engineering field for managing the development and maintenance of
large, software- intensive systems. Software architecture community has
developed numerous methods, techniques, and tools to support the architecture
process (analysis, design, and review). Historically, most advances in software
architecture have been driven by talented people and industrial experience, but
there is now a growing need to systematically gather empirical evidence about
the advantages or otherwise of tools and methods rather than just rely on
promotional anecdotes or rhetoric. The aim of this paper is to promote and
facilitate the application of the empirical paradigm to software architecture.
To this end, we describe the challenges and lessons learned when assessing
software architecture research that used controlled experiments, replications,
expert opinion, systematic literature reviews, obser- vational studies, and
surveys. Our research will support the emergence of a body of knowledge
consisting of the more widely-accepted and well-formed software architecture
theories.