Design and Use of Software Architectures: Adopting and Evolving a Product-Line Approach

by Jan Bosch

Book Overview

A practical guide to designing and implementing software architectures.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0201674947
• ISBN13: 9780201674941
• Release Date: May 2000
• Publisher: Addison-Wesley
• Length: 368 Pages
• Weight: 1.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 7.4" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Difficult read.

I had this book for a class at post graduate school. The material in the book is good, but it is unfortunate how difficult reading the book is. I think the reason for this is the translation from another language. Aside from the english of the book, the arguments presented are down so in a very logical progression and made very well.

An excellent fifth book about the subject

This book is certainly not for beginners. You already have to know a lot about software architecture to meaningfully read it.It is very abstract, elegant and bright. The reading style is still amazingly light. If you are in the know you are delighted to read about it in such an elegant way. If you are not in the know you will have trouble to develop a concrete idea and to digest all those different aspects on so few pages.

Sound approach - ATAM proponents will like this book!

This book provides an interesting and comprehensive approach to designing software architectures. The author crystalized four concepts that have greatly influenced on my thinking: (1)focus on quality attributes during the design and evaluation, (2) a rich set of evaluation techniques, (3) dimensional views of the architecture design, and (4) a realistic approach to reusability.The author's treatment of quality attributes provides a good foundation for the design process. The author's method of linking quality attributes to quality requirements is plain good practice and bears careful reading. Traceability in any engineering or design effort is essential and the approach proposed needs to be included early in the life cycle.There are major four evaluation techniques covered in the book: Scenario-based that examines software qualities within the context of scenarios; simulation techniques that model the architecture in a simulation environment; mathematical modeling that uses statistics, probability and other techniques to predict qualities such as reliability, etc.; and experienced-based reasoning (see Brooks' Mythical Man Month for a good explanation of that!).Among the most powerful concepts presented is dimensional views, which decompose the architecture into component and system views; business, organization, process and technology views; and development, usage and evolution views. This approach ensures that an architecture's design proceeds in accordance with findings from a thorough analysis, and that all factors be considered and incorporated into the design. If you are a proponent of SEI's Architecture Trade-off Analysis Method (ATAM) you will see some similarities. However, if you carefully examine the author's approach you will see some gaps: the focus is not on trade-off points (although the dimensional views will certainly uncover trade-offs that have to be made), and ATAM does not address the evolution of the architecture. The product line approach proposed by the author does. Applying product line concepts to design and development promotes reusability, as well as providing a set of guidelines for evolving or changing the architecture. Overall this is an excellent book that balances theory with a practical approach that is supported by case studies and real examples. I view it as a philosophy on architecture design instead of a methodology. It is a refreshing change from some of the architecture books I have read that are filled with dogmatic methods and "design in a vacuum". The approach proposed will link design to requirements, and will ensure that the architecture meets standards that are defined by quality attributes and not arbitrary design criteria.