Improving the software architecture design process by reusing technology-specific experience

Abstract

Experience with particular technologies such as SOA, Cloud Computing, or Mobile Apps plays a crucial role when designing the architecture of a software system. Being aware of the challenges usually encountered when using a technology and knowing in advance how to resolve these challenges can dramatically increase the quality of the software system architecture and decrease the design effort. However, it is not always a straightforward process to collect the necessary architectural experience, persist it on the organizational level, and reuse it in the right way, especially if the technology is new. This paper describes how architecture design processes can be improved by supplementing them with architectural experience related to a particular technology. The way architectural experience can be described using architectural scenarios and solution patterns is explained and persisted in the architecture design process. The efficiency of the approach is validated with the help of a case study.