Software architecture decision-making process: The practitioners' view from the Brazilian industry

Abstract

In the development of modern software solutions, architecture plays a crucial role in the success of the solution, as it comprises structural and behavioral features of the system, along with critical decisions about the system. Given this, several studies have been conducted in the literature about architecture decision-making process, but these studies are normally conducted with professionals outside of the Brazilian perspective or restricted to a specific company. Although architecture knowledge is the same, differences, like cultural behaviors, professional experiences and academic background, may arise. For this reason, this study presents the architecture decision-making from the view of Brazilian software practitioners. The results are a compilation of findings from 12 semi-structured interviews with senior practitioners from different companies and provide insights about the decision-making process. Regarding the context in which decisions are made, it is found that practitioners often guide and influence decisions and use experience as their main foundation, and the process is normally influenced by features of the company, like its domain and size. Concerning the decision-making process, practitioners in most cases use PoCs, organizational patterns or requirements to define the architecture. Group decision-making is often followed, although no systematic approach is used. Also, no tools are employed to support decision-making, and the decisions are documented and revised frequently.