Experiences from Scenario-Based Architecture Evaluations with ATAM

Software architecture may go through many changes during its existence. Architecture evaluation can point out current problems, help to anticipate some of the future changes, and also show the absolute limits of a design. This paper presents experiences from eleven scenario based architecture evaluations with ATAM. The evaluations were completed on a tight two day evaluation schedule. This limited time forced to search for alternative scheduling options. The evaluated system designs had relatively long life cycle up to 30 years and all the designs were evaluated for the first time. We have learnt that in evaluations current issues often overshadow the long view of the future. We suggest that architecture evaluations should be integrated to the development process as a tool not only for today but also for tomorrow.