Models for Evaluating and Improving Architecture Competence

Software architecture competence is the ability of an individual or organization to acquire, use, and sustain the skills and knowledge necessary to carry out software architecture-centric practices. Previous work in architecture has concentrated on its technical aspects: methods and tools for creating, analyzing, and using architecture. However, a different perspective recognizes that these activities are carried out by people working in organizations, and those people and organizations can use assistance towards consistently producing high-quality architectures.

This report lays out the basic concepts of software architecture competence and describes four models for explaining, measuring, and improving the architecture competence of an individual or a software-producing organization. The models are based on (1) the duties, skills, and knowledge required of a software architect or architecture organization, (2) human performance technology, an engineering approach applied to improving the competence of individuals, (3) organizational coordination, the study of how people and units in an organization share information, and (4) organizational learning, an approach to how organizations acquire, internalize, and utilize knowledge to improve their performance. The report also shows how the four models can be synergistically applied to produce an evaluation instrument to measure an organization's architecture competence.

PDF [995 KB]

Authors

Len Bass

Paul C. Clements

Rick Kazman

Mark H. Klein

Technical Report
CMU/SEI-2008-TR-006
March 2008

Cite This Report

SEI:

Bass, Len; Clements, Paul; Kazman, Rick; & Klein, Mark. Models for Evaluating and Improving Architecture Competence (CMU/SEI-2008-TR-006). Software Engineering Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, 2008. http://www.sei.cmu.edu/library/abstracts/reports/08tr006.cfm

IEEE:

L. Bass, P. Clements, R. Kazman, and M. Klein, "Models for Evaluating and Improving Architecture Competence," Software Engineering Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Technical Report CMU/SEI-2008-TR-006, 2008. http://www.sei.cmu.edu/library/abstracts/reports/08tr006.cfm

APA:

Bass, L., Clements, P., Kazman, R., & Klein, M. (2008). Models for Evaluating and Improving Architecture Competence (CMU/SEI-2008-TR-006). Retrieved June 18, 2013, from the Software Engineering Institute, Carnegie Mellon University website: http://www.sei.cmu.edu/library/abstracts/reports/08tr006.cfm

CHI:

Bass, Len, Paul Clements, Rick Kazman, and Mark Klein. Models for Evaluating and Improving Architecture Competence (CMU/SEI-2008-TR-006). Pittsburgh, PA: Software Engineering Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, 2008. http://www.sei.cmu.edu/library/abstracts/reports/08tr006.cfm

MLA:

Bass, L., Clements, P., Kazman, R., & Klein, M. 2008. Models for Evaluating and Improving Architecture Competence (Technical Report CMU/SEI-2008-TR-006). Pittsburgh: Software Engineering Institute, Carnegie Mellon University. http://www.sei.cmu.edu/library/abstracts/reports/08tr006.cfm

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