A framework for analysis and design of software reference architectures

REARM: A Reuse-Based Economic Model for Software Reference Architectures

“…One of these approaches is the use of software reference architectures (RA), which are becoming widely studied and adopted in research and practice [3] [19]. As defined by Bass et al [5], an RA is "a reference model mapped onto software elements (that cooperatively implement the functionality defined in the reference model) and the data flows between them".…”

“…The motivations behind RAs are: to systematically reuse knowledge and software elements when developing concrete SA for new systems and thereby harvest potential savings through reduced cycle times, cost, risk and increased quality [11]; to help with the evolution of a set of systems that stem from the same RA [18]; and to ensure standardization and interoperability [3].…”

“…However, out of the SPL context, RA and PLA are considered different types of artifacts [3][12] [19] [28]. In Fig.…”

“…PLAs are just one asset of SPL [9, p. 12].  RAs are more generic and abstract than PLAs that are more complete architectures [3] [19]. Hence, "RAs can be designed with an intended scope of a single organization or multiple organizations that share a certain property" [3] whereas PLAs are produced for a single organization [19].…”

“… RAs are more generic and abstract than PLAs that are more complete architectures [3] [19]. Hence, "RAs can be designed with an intended scope of a single organization or multiple organizations that share a certain property" [3] whereas PLAs are produced for a single organization [19].  RAs provide standardized solutions for a broader domain (i.e., "spectrum of systems in a technology or application domain" [19]) whereas PLAs provide standardized solutions for a smaller subset of the software systems of a domain [28] (i.e., "group of systems that are part of a product line" [19]).…”