ICSA 2024
Tue 4 - Sat 8 June 2024 Hyderabad, Telangana, India

Despite the recognized importance of software architecture, it is common that the implementation diverges from the intended architecture over time. This phenomenon is referred to as architectural drift. In the past decades, mainly technical solutions and tools have been developed to detect and address architectural inconsistencies and drift. There is still a lack of evidence from the perspective of developers and a lack of best practices to manage drift. This mixed-methods study relies on interviews with 11 developers and a survey answered by 63 developers from different companies and domains. We analyzed the data by dividing developers into senior and junior to see the different perspectives based on work experience. We found that juniors tend to rely more on documentation, while seniors have a more experience-related approach. We identified practices that developers use to mitigate drift, including defining clear responsibilities, setting best practices, and maintaining reliable documentation. Finally, we designed and evaluated guidelines to help developers to face architectural drift.

Fri 7 Jun

Displayed time zone: Chennai, Kolkata, Mumbai, New Delhi change

14:00 - 15:30
Session 6B: Conformance Checking & Empirical Analysis 1Research Papers / Journal First

Session Chair: Elisa Yumi Nakagawa, University of São Paulo
Room: D-101, D-Block, Himalaya Building

14:00
25m
Research paper
We're Drifting Apart: Architectural Drift from the Developers' PerspectiveResearch Paper
Research Papers
A: Emilie Anthony Chalmers | University of Gothenburg, A: Astrid Berntsson Chalmers | University of Gothenburg, A: Tiziano Santilli Gran Sasso Science Institute (GSSI), A: Rebekka Wohlrab Chalmers University of Technology
14:25
25m
Research paper
Continuous conformance of software architecturesResearch Paper
Research Papers
A: Alessio Bucaioni Mälardalen University, A: Amleto Di Salle Gran Sasso Science Institute (GSSI), A: Ludovico Iovino Gran Sasso Science Institute, L'Aquila, Italy, A: Leonardo Mariani University of Milano-Bicocca, A: Patrizio Pelliccione Gran Sasso Science Institute, L'Aquila, Italy
14:50
25m
Research paper
RESTRuler: Towards Automatically Identifying Violations of RESTful Design Rules in Web APIsDistinguish Best Artifact AwardResearch Paper
Research Papers
A: Justus Bogner Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, A: Sebastian Kotstein Reutlingen University, A: Daniel Abajirov University of Stuttgart, A: Timothy Ernst , A: Manuel Merkel University of Stuttgart
Pre-print
15:15
20m
Paper
What is Continuous Compliance?Journal First
Journal First
A: Tiziano Santilli Gran Sasso Science Institute (GSSI), A: Patrizio Pelliccione Gran Sasso Science Institute, L'Aquila, Italy, A: Rebekka Wohlrab Chalmers University of Technology, A: Ali Shahrokni Systemite