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Are Architecture Design Decisions in Distributed Teams Supported by Tools?

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Enterprise Information Systems (ICEIS 2023)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Business Information Processing ((LNBIP,volume 518))

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Abstract

Background. Global Software Engineering (GSE) represents a recognized practice that facilitates the collaborative development of software artifacts across geographically distributed teams. In this context, the successful design and maintenance of software requires continuous collaboration to manage critical architectural decisions effectively. Consequently, various tools for Architecture Design Decision (ADD) have been developed to support design thinking and the decision-making process. However, recent research studies have drawn attention to challenges in managing ADDs within distributed environments. Aim. Our study aims to determine assessment metrics to evaluate if the existing ADD tools support Distributed Collaborative Design (DCD) in the GSE setting. Method. We used a Goal-Question-Metric (GQM) method and conducted expert surveys to define and validate the assessment metrics. Result. We present six assessment metrics for evaluating the support of ADD tools in facilitating distributed collaborative design (DCD). Conclusion. The assessment metrics provide a tool analysis to extract insights into current practice within an ADD process in distributed development environments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Free University of Bozen/Bolzano, Bolzano, Italy

    Mahum Adil, Ilenia Fronza & Claus Pahl

  2. CSC - IT Center for Science, Espoo, Finland

    Outi Sievi-Korte

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  1. Mahum Adil
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  2. Ilenia Fronza
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  3. Outi Sievi-Korte
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  4. Claus Pahl
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Correspondence to Mahum Adil .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Polytechnic Institute of Setúbal, Setúbal, Portugal

    Joaquim Filipe

  2. Warsaw University of Technology, Warszawa, Poland

    Michał Śmiałek

  3. George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, USA

    Alexander Brodsky

  4. ESEO, Angers, France

    Slimane Hammoudi

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Adil, M., Fronza, I., Sievi-Korte, O., Pahl, C. (2024). Are Architecture Design Decisions in Distributed Teams Supported by Tools?. In: Filipe, J., Śmiałek, M., Brodsky, A., Hammoudi, S. (eds) Enterprise Information Systems. ICEIS 2023. Lecture Notes in Business Information Processing, vol 518. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-64748-2_17

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