The Role of Software Architecture in Requirements Engineering

Problem Space versus Solution Space Requirements engineering is concerned fundamen tally with the shape of the problem space. Its primary goal is to determine the dimensions of the problem that the software system is to solve. In contrast, software architecture is concerned with the shape of the solution space. Its primary goal is to determine the structure of a solution to a problem posed by a set of requirements. Thus, understanding the role of software architecture in requirements engineering is largely a matter of understanding the dynamic relationship between identification of a problem to be solved and a description of its solution.