Understanding software architecture erosion: A systematic mapping study. Issue 3 (9th February 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Li, Ruiyin; Liang, Peng; Soliman, Mohamed; Avgeriou, Paris
• Is Part Of: Journal of software. Volume 34:Issue 3(2022)
• Page Start: n/a
• Page End: n/a
• Publication Date: 2022-02-09
• Subjects: architecture erosion -- software architecture -- systematic mapping study; Software engineering -- Periodicals; Computer software -- Development -- Periodicals; Software maintenance -- Periodicals; 005.1
• DOI: 10.1002/smr.2423
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2047-7473

Abstract

Abstract: Architecture erosion (AEr) can adversely affect software development and has received significant attention in the last decade. However, there is an absence of a comprehensive understanding of the state of research about the reasons and consequences of AEr, and the countermeasures to address AEr. This work aims at systematically investigating, identifying, and analyzing the reasons, consequences, and ways of detecting and handling AEr. With 73 studies included, the main results are as follows: (1) AEr manifests not only through architectural violations and structural issues but also causing problems in software quality and during software evolution; (2) non‐technical reasons that cause AEr should receive the same attention as technical reasons, and practitioners should raise awareness of the grave consequences of AEr, thereby taking actions to tackle AEr‐related issues; (3) a spectrum of approaches, tools, and measures has been proposed and employed to detect and tackle AEr; and (4) three categories of difficulties and five categories of lessons learned on tackling AEr were identified. The results can provide researchers a comprehensive understanding of AEr and help practitioners handle AEr and improve the sustainability of their architecture. More empirical studies are required to investigate the practices of detecting and addressing AEr in industrial settings. Abstract : Architecture erosion (AEr) is a multifaceted phenomenon, which is often described from four perspectives: violation, structure, quality, and evolution. AEr does not arise spontaneously and the root reason of AEr comes about through change . AEr is caused by both technical factors (e.g., architecture violation, evolution issue, and technical debt) and non‐technical factors (e.g., knowledge vaporization), which are intertwined. The majority of the approaches and tools used to detect AEr are mainly focused on architectural consistency. The diversity of the existing approaches and tools should be increased, because more than half of the tools only support one specific programming language.