Creating product line architectures

The creation and validation of product line software architectures are inherently more complex than those of software architectures for single systems. This paper compares a process for creating and evaluating a traditional, one-of-a- kind software architecture with one for a reference software architecture. The comparison is done in the context of PuLSE-DSSA, a customizable process that integrates both product line architecture creation and evaluation

Software dependability modeling using an industry-standard architecture description language

Performing dependability evaluation along with other analyses at architectural level allows both making architectural tradeoffs and predicting the effects of architectural decisions on the dependability of an application. This paper gives guidelines for building architectural dependability models for software systems using the AADL (Architecture Analysis and Design Language). It presents reusable modeling patterns for fault-tolerant applications and shows how the presented patterns can be used in the context of a subsystem of a real-life application

Implementation issues in product line scoping

Often product line engineering is treated similar to the waterfall model in traditional software engineering, i.e., the different phases (scoping, analysis, architecting, implementation) are treated as if they could be clearly separated and would follow each other in an ordered fashion. However, in practice strong interactions between the individual phases become apparent. In particular, how implementation is done has a strong impact on economic aspects of the project and thus how to adequately plan it. Hence, assessing these relationships adequately in the beginning has a strong impact on performing a product line project right. In this paper we present a framework that helps in exactly this task. It captures on an abstract level the relationships between scoping information and implementation aspects and thus allows to provide rough guidance on implementation aspects of the project. We will also discuss the application of our framework to a specific industrial project

Architectural aspects of self-aware and self-expressive computing systems: from psychology to engineering

Work on human self-Awareness is the basis for a framework to develop computational systems that can adaptively manage complex dynamic tradeoffs at runtime. An architectural case study in cloud computing illustrates the framework's potential benefits

Component-Based Software Engineering - New Challenges in Software Development

The primary role of component-based software engineering is to address the development of systems as an assembly of parts (components), the development of parts as reusable entities, and the maintenance and upgrading of systems by customising and replacing such parts. This requires established methodologies and tool support covering the entire component and system lifecycle including technological, organisational, marketing, legal, and other aspects. The traditional disciplines from software engineering need new methodologies to support component-based development

Interactive assessment of simulated service qualities by business stakeholders: principles and research issues

We present the principles of an approach supporting the stakeholder involvement in a software process for service-oriented systems in a form of assessing the perceived quality of the software under development in its usage context. This method relies on interactive simulation of service performance and reliability; simulation models are parameterized by the factors influencing service execution; business stakeholders experience simulated service qualities in simulated usage contexts and assess this experience; the obtained assessments can be later used throughout the system lifecycle as a means of control for the quality of the software under development.Наведено принципи підходу, що підтримує участь зацікавлених осіб у процесі розробки сервіс-орієнтованих програмних систем у вигляді оцінювання сприйманої якості розроблюваної системи в контексті її використання. Цей підхід спирається на інтерактивне імітаційне моделювання продуктивності та надійності сервісів; параметрами імітаційних моделей є фактори, що впливають на виконання сервісів; зацікавлені особи висловлюють своє відношення до значень продуктивності та надійності, отриманих при взаємодії з імітаційними моделями якості сервісів у рамках виконання імітаційних моделей їх контекстів використання, надані оцінки можуть бути використані на різних етапах життєвого циклу програмного забезпечення як засоби контролю його якості

Software architectures: Blueprint, Literature, Language or Decision

Abstract This study questions the traditional view of software architecture as a specification that needs only be understood by software architects and engineers. Based on an intensive study of three software-producing organizations, we identify multiple metaphors ('Blueprint,' 'Literature,' 'Language' and 'Decision') that stakeholders use to understand the term software architecture, which in turn, allows them to effectively participate in its creation and use. Our results point to new research directions that may better encompass a broader view of software architecture