This report summarizes how to systematically analyze a software
architecture with respect to a quality attribute requirement for
maintainability. The report introduces maintainability and common forms
of maintainability requirements for software architectures. It provides a
set of definitions, core concepts, and a framework for reasoning about
maintainability and the satisfaction (or not) of maintainability
requirements by an architecture and, eventually, a system. It describes a
set of mechanisms, such as patterns and tactics, that are commonly used
to satisfy maintainability requirements. It also provides a method by
which an analyst can determine whether an architecture documentation
package provides enough information to support analysis and, if so,
determine whether the architectural decisions contain serious risks
relative to maintainability requirements. An analyst can use this method
to determine whether those requirements, represented as a set of
scenarios, have been sufficiently well specified to support the needs of
analysis. The reasoning around this quality attribute should allow an
analyst, armed with appropriate architectural documentation, to assess
the risks inherent in today’s architectural decisions in light of
tomorrow’s anticipated needs.
History
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2020-12-01Copyright Statement
Copyright 2020 Carnegie Mellon University.This material is based upon work funded and supported by the Department of Defense under Contract No. FA8702-15-D-0002 with Carnegie Mellon University for the operation of the Software Engineering Institute, a federally funded research and development center.The view, opinions, and/or findings contained in this material are those of the author(s) and should not be construed as an official Government position, policy, or decision, unless designated by other documentation.