Reference architecture representation environment (RARE): Systematic derivation and evaluation of domain-specific, implementation-independent software architectures

Software architectures have demonstrated to be effective representations for expressing system stakeholder concerns and prescribing software systems to satisfy those concerns. However, research is only beginning to emphasize systematic processes for deriving and evaluating those architectures from stakeholder requirements. This research offers a systematic process and a supporting tool, Reference Architecture Representation Environment (RARE), for deriving and evaluating a high-level software architecture, the Domain Reference Architecture (DRA), such that the resulting architecture reflects quality goals prioritized by the architect, including reusability, maintainability, performance, integrability, reliability, and comprehensibility. The DRA is an implementation independent architecture composed of Domain Reference Architecture Classes (DRACs), each of which specifies some portion of domain data and functionality. Thus, the essential DRA derivation process consists of identifying DRACs and allocating domain data and functionality to those DRACs. While disciplines such as object-oriented analysis and design offer selective guidance for deriving class-based architectures, the current state of the art is largely ad hoc. The approach used in this research focuses on defining a deterministic transformation, such that for a given model of functional and data requirements and a prioritized set of architect quality goals, the derivation process yields a particular DRA structure, and the evaluation of that DRA with respect to quality goals is consistent. Experiments conducted show that changes in the selection and prioritization of quality goals and the approaches used to achieve and measure those quality goals (i) impact the structure of the resulting architecture and (ii) are reflected in goal satisfaction evaluation. Experiments also demonstrate that the RARE process respects the goal priorities established by the architect.