On Reducing the Energy Consumption of Software: From Hurdles to Requirements

International audienceBackground. As software took control over hardware in many domains, the question of the energy footprint induced by the software is becoming critical for our society, as the resources powering the underlying infrastructure are finite. Yet, beyond this growing interest, energy consumption remains a difficult concept to master for a developer.Aims. The purpose of this study is to better understand the root causes that prevent software energy consumption to be more widely adopted by developers and companies.Method. To investigate this issue, this paper reports on a qualitative study we conducted in an industrial context. We applied an in-depth analysis of the interviews of 10 experienced developers and summarized a set of implications.Results. We argue that our study delivers i) insightful feedback on how green software design is considered among the interviewed developers and ii) a set of findings to build helpful tools, motivate further research, and establish better development strategies to promote green software design.Conclusion. This paper covers an industrial case study of developers' awareness of green software design and how to promote it within the company. While it might not be generalizable for any company, we believe our results deliver a common body of knowledge with implications to be considered for similar cases and further researches

A Study of Architectural Decision Practices

Abstract—Architectural decisions shape a software architecture and determine its ability to meet its requirements. To better understand architectural decisions in practice, we interviewed developers at two organizations. The results revealed that architectural decisions often become technology decisions, which are in turn influenced by both technical and social factors. Meetings and knowledge repositories help to communicate architectural decisions, but code reviews are ultimately necessary to ensure conformance. Costly changes to architectural decisions are caused by the discovery of an Achilles ’ heel, an important scenario that cannot be supported by an architectural decision. These findings suggest an important need for social development tools that help developers more easily and successfully share valuable technology knowledge and more effectively make technology choices. Index Terms—architecture, architectural decisions, empirical study, developer practices I