The Critical Need for Software Architecture Practices in Software Development Process

Abstract

Software architecture is the master plan of every reliable software system. It is the building block of any kind of software system which greatly determines the success of the system. This paper argues that every system needs a good architecture and that requires the use of good architecture engineering practices in a software development process. The paper recognized software architecture practice as a discipline pervading all phases of software development and then identifies some of the pertinent areas where architectural practice can be used based on a framework. In addition a model showing how software architecture fits into the phases of a generic software development process lifecycle was presented. The model is to enable software developers and acquirers to use effective software architecture practices during software development in order to exert significantly greater control over software product qualities.

Keywords: Software architecture, Software Development, Software, Quality, Stakeholders, Software engineering