Evaluating architectural stability with real options theory

Author

Bahsoon, Rami ; Emmerich, Wolfgang

Author_Institution

Dept. of Comput. Sci., Univ. Coll. London, UK

fYear

2004

fDate

11-14 Sept. 2004

Firstpage

443

Lastpage

447

Abstract

Architectural stability refers to the extent to which a software architecture is flexible enough to respond to changes in stakeholders´ requirements and the environment. We contribute to a model that exploits options theory to evaluate architectural stability. We describe how we have derived the model: the analogy and assumptions made; its formulation and possible interpretations. We use a refactoring case study to empirically evaluate the model. The results show that the model can provide insights into architectural stability and investment decisions related to the evolution of software systems.

Keywords

economics; formal specification; investment; software architecture; software performance evaluation; architectural stability; economics-driven software engineering; investment decisions; real options theory; refactoring case study; requirements architecture; software architecture; software evolution; stakeholder requirements; Computer architecture; Computer science; Educational institutions; Environmental economics; Investments; Software architecture; Software engineering; Software systems; Stability; Uncertainty;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Software Maintenance, 2004. Proceedings. 20th IEEE International Conference on

ISSN

1063-6773

Print_ISBN

0-7695-2213-0

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/ICSM.2004.1357832

Filename

1357832