Bridging the Twin Peaks -- The Case of the Software Industry

Abstract

We review the relationship between software architecture and requirements in the context of software products. Based on empirical evidence from a comparative case study, we promote four positions: (1) the requirements/architecture alignment problem for software products is inherently different than the same problem for tailor-made software; (2) bridging the Twin Peaks corresponds to defining and enacting a stepwise evolution of the product architecture; (3) communication tasks are ascribed to the product manager rather than the architect; and (4) integrated and cross-disciplinary tools are key to maintain requirements/architecture alignment. We argue that these positions motivate and characterize future research in the field.

Ekstraksi Kebutuhan Aplikasi Berdasarkan Feedback Pengguna Menggunakan Naïve Bayes dan Gamifikasi

“…Namun kenyataanya, tidak semua penggunanya melibatkan diri secara aktif dalam proses analisis kebutuhan suatu proyek karena berbagai alasan, termasuk dalam memberikan feedback terkait pengalaman yang dirasakan pengguna setelah ISSN 2085-4552 menggunakan suatu aplikasi atau software. Hal ini terutama terjadi pada proyek yang melibatkan banyak pengguna/stakeholder yang bervariasi, seperti proyekproyek yang biasa dilakukan oleh software producing organization (SPO) dengan multiple clients, mencocokkan kebutuhan para pengguna dengan visi dan road map suatu produk semakin menambah kesulitan yang ada [9].…”

Requirements Analysis and Management for Benefiting Openness

“…First, the Architecture Impact Analysis (AIA) need to be performed to understand the impact of new requirements on the current architecture and potential changes that need to be made during the implementation. The involvement of software architect as a technical counterpart of software product manager is important at this stage to ensure the alignment between product requirements and architecture and create a stepwise architectural evolution that fits with the product roadmaps [17].…”

Explicit Alignment of Requirements and Architecture in Agile Development

“…The Twin Peaks model describes how requirements and architecture are defined concurrently, yet being separate activities, with the former guiding the latter and the latter constraining the former [28]. Extending Nuseibeh's model, the Reciprocal Twin Peaks model [22] focuses on agile development and discusses why the synergy between requirements and architectural elements matters. Throughout the development process, one has to manage a continuous flow of requirements, as well as a continuously changing architecture.…”

“…The challenge that we tackle in this paper is how to keep RE and SA aligned in the context of agile development. While both Nuseibeh [28] and Lucassen [22] identified challenges and explained how RE and SA can support each other, they did not specify how to tackle them. What makes the problem hard is that a good solution should not increase stakeholders' workload or costs, in line with the principles of ubiquitous traceability [9].…”