Fifth Working IEEE/IFIP Conference on Software Architecture (WICSA'05)
ACCA: An Architecture-Centric Concern Analysis Method
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
November 06-November 10
ISBN: 0-7695-2548-2
The architecture of a software system is a key asset for a software business. While there are several architecting and evaluation methods, literature and practice are devoid of architecture-centric concernanalysis (ACCA) methods analogous to causal analysis methods for software defects. A concern is any aspect of an architecture considered undesirable. This paper describes an ACCA method which uses at its core a Concern Traceability map (CT-map) that captures architectural design decisions starting from software requirements and links them to identified architectural concerns. The CT-map essentially forms a net of design decisions, sandwiched between requirements and architectural concerns. Analysis of the root causes of a concern is then conducted on the CT-map. The ACCA method is empirically validated through a case study on a sizeable architecture of a banking application.
Citation:
Zhenyu Wang, Khalid Sherdil, Nazim H. Madhavji, "ACCA: An Architecture-Centric Concern Analysis Method," wicsa, pp.99-108, Fifth Working IEEE/IFIP Conference on Software Architecture (WICSA'05), 2005