Exploring Web Search Engines to Find Architectural Knowledge

Abstract

Software engineers need relevant and up-to-date architectural knowledge (AK), in order to make well-founded design decisions. However, finding such AK is quite challenging. One pragmatic approach is to search for AK on the web using traditional search engines (e.g. Google); this is common practice among software engineers. Still, we know very little about what AK is retrieved, from where, and how useful it is. In this paper, we conduct an empirical study with 53 software engineers, who used Google to make design decisions using the Attribute-Driven-Design method. Based on how the subjects assessed the nature and relevance of the retrieved results, we determined how effective web search engines are to find relevant architectural information. Moreover, we identified the different sources of AK on the web and their associated AK concepts.

Characterizing Architecture Related Posts and Their Usefulness in Stack Overflow

“…Architecture knowledge, such as architecture decisions and their rationale [24], benefits and drawbacks of architecture solutions [6], is one of the most important types of knowledge in software development [22]. Architectural knowledge is often described in various formats, such as textual and graphical representation [25] and this knowledge is recorded in various sources, such as books [22], technical blogs and tutorials [11], developer mailing lists (e.g., ArgoUML [26]), Q&A sites (e.g., SO [5]). In this study, we investigated architecture knowledge discussed in SO from various aspects, such as categories and characteristics of ARPs in SO, SO users' discussions on the usefulness of architecture solutions provided in SO.…”

“…The presented energy-aware tactics can serve as guidance for roboticists, as well as other developers interested in architecting and implementing energy-aware software. Soliman et al [11] conducted an empirical study with 50 software engineers, who used Google to make design decisions using the Attribute Driven Design steps [12]. Based on the relevance and Architecture Knowledge (AK) concepts specified by software engineers, they determined how effective web search engines are to find relevant architectural information from various sources (including Stack Overflow) and to capture AK.…”

“…Soliman et al [10] developed a search approach (i.e., a domain specific search approach) for searching architecture knowledge in SO. In another work, Soliman et al [11] conducted an empirical study with 50 software engineers, who used Google to make design decisions using Attribute Driven Design [12], and they determined how effective web search engines are to find relevant architectural information from various sources (including SO) and to capture AK. Malavolta et al [13] extracted data from five open source software repositories (including SO), and mined architectural tactics for energyefficiency applied by practitioners in real robotics projects.…”

An Exploratory Study on Architectural Knowledge in Issue Tracking Systems

“…Recently, researchers explored and captured AK concepts in multiple different sources, such as developer communities (e.g. Stack Overflow [4,19,20,22]), Google search results [23], technology documentation [9] and mailing lists [7]. However, these studies do not explore or capture AK in issue tracking systems.…”

“…However, similar to other sources of AK (e.g. developer communities [19,20] or simply Google searching [23]), it is challenging to manually recognize and re-use AK within issue tracking systems. First, the majority of issues do not discuss architectural problems [3]; instead, they focus on detailed development problems (e.g.…”