A Multilevel Analysis Method for Architecture Erosion

Chen

Security and Communication Networks

2021

Self Cite

Software architecture evolution may lead to architecture erosion, resulting in the increase of software maintenance cost, the deterioration of software quality, the decline of software performance, and so on. In order to avoid software architecture erosion, we should evaluate the evolution effect of software architecture in time. This paper proposes a prediction method for the evolution effects of software architecture based on BP network. Firstly, this method proposes four evolution principles and evaluates the overall evolution effects based on the combined measurements. Then, we extract the evolutionary activities from release notes. Finally, we establish a prediction model for evolution effect based on BP network. Experimental results show that the proposed method can be used to predict the evolution effect.

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Prediction Method for Evolution Effects of Software Architecture

Chen

Security and Communication Networks

2021

Self Cite

“…Regarding the results of RQ1.2, we found that developers usually describe the phenomenon of AEr from four perspectives: structure, quality, maintenance, and evolution. All the four perspectives are worth investigating with further research; while there are some literature linking each perspective with AEr (see e.g., [52] and [53] for structure, [20] for quality, and [54] for maintenance and evolution), this investigation needs to be more systematic.…”

Section: A Interpretation Of Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Many studies focus on AEr with the purpose of identifying and repairing eroded architectures. For example, Wang et al [20] proposed a multilevel method for detecting and repairing AEr based on architecture quality. Le et al [5] identified AEr by analyzing architectural smells and their relationships between reported issues.…”

Section: Related Work a Architecture Erosionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding Architecture Erosion: The Practitioners' Perceptive

Liang

Soliman

et al. 2021

Preprint

As software systems evolve, their architecture is meant to adapt accordingly by following the changes in requirements, the environment, and the implementation. However, in practice, the evolving system often deviates from the architecture, causing severe consequences to system maintenance and evolution. This phenomenon of architecture erosion has been studied extensively in research, but not yet been examined from the point of view of developers. In this exploratory study, we look into how developers perceive the notion of architecture erosion, its causes and consequences, as well as tools and practices to identify and control architecture erosion. To this end, we searched through several popular online developer communities for collecting data of discussions related to architecture erosion. Besides, we identified developers involved in these discussions and conducted a survey with 10 participants and held interviews with 4 participants. Our findings show that: (1) developers either focus on the structural manifestation of architecture erosion or on its effect on run-time qualities, maintenance and evolution;(2) alongside technical factors, architecture erosion is caused to a large extent by non-technical factors; (3) despite the lack of dedicated tools for detecting architecture erosion, developers usually identify erosion through a number of symptoms; and (4) there are effective measures that can help to alleviate the impact of architecture erosion.

J Software Evolu Process

“…Besides, certain definitions of AEr are not included in this SMS, because the publication years of these studies are not within the time period of our SMS. For example, Jaktman et al 52 defined AEr as "structure of a software architecture to be eroded when the software becomes resistant to change or software changes become risky and time consuming," and this definition focuses on the structure perspective (see Table 8); Wang et al 53 defined that "architecture erosion is a phenomenon that occurs when architecture quality is decreased with software evolution," and this definition focuses on the quality perspective (see Table 8). The two definitions above can also support that AEr is more than a simple phenomenon about the violations of intended architecture, and the relationships between the four perspectives are worth further investigation.…”

Section: Detection Of Aermentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding software architecture erosion: A systematic mapping study

Liang

Soliman

et al. 2022

Architecture erosion (AEr) can adversely affect software development and has received significant attention in the last decade. However, there is an absence of a comprehensive understanding of the state of research about the reasons and consequences of AEr, and the countermeasures to address AEr. This work aims at systematically investigating, identifying, and analyzing the reasons, consequences, and ways of detecting and handling AEr. With 73 studies included, the main results are as follows: (1) AEr manifests not only through architectural violations and structural issues but also causing problems in software quality and during software evolution; (2) non-technical reasons that cause AEr should receive the same attention as technical reasons, and practitioners should raise awareness of the grave consequences of AEr, thereby taking actions to tackle AEr-related issues; (3) a spectrum of approaches, tools, and measures has been proposed and employed to detect and tackle AEr; and (4) three categories of difficulties and five categories of lessons learned on tackling AEr were identified. The results can provide researchers a comprehensive understanding of AEr and help practitioners handle AEr and improve the sustainability of their architecture. More empirical studies are required to investigate the practices of detecting and addressing AEr in industrial settings.