An Approach to Software Architecture Analysis for Evolution and Reusability

SEI Report
This paper presents an approach to capturing and assessing software architectures for evolution and reuse.
Publisher

Software Engineering Institute

Abstract

Software evolution and reuse is more likely to receive higher payoff if high-level artifacts—such as architectures and designs—can be reused and can guide low-level component reuse. In practice, however, high-level artifacts are often not appropriately captured. This paper presents an approach to capturing and assessing software architectures for evolution and reuse. The approach consists of a framework for modeling various types of relevant information and a set of architectural views for reengineering, analyzing, and comparing software architectures. We have applied this approach to large-scale telecommunications systems, where the approach is useful to reveal areas for improvement and the potential for reuse.

Cite This SEI Report

Bot, S., Kalaichelvan, K., Kazman, R., & Lung, C. (1997, November 1). An Approach to Software Architecture Analysis for Evolution and Reusability. Retrieved September 12, 2026, from https://www.sei.cmu.edu/library/an-approach-to-software-architecture-analysis-for-evolution-and-reusability/.

@techreport{bot_1997,
author={Bot, Sonia and Kalaichelvan, Kalai  and Kazman, Rick and Lung, Chung-Horng},
title={An Approach to Software Architecture Analysis for Evolution and Reusability},
month={Nov},
year={1997},
institution={Software Engineering Institute, Carnegie Mellon University},
url={https://www.sei.cmu.edu/library/an-approach-to-software-architecture-analysis-for-evolution-and-reusability/},
note={Accessed: 2026-Sep-12}
}

Bot, Sonia, Kalai Kalaichelvan, Rick Kazman, and Chung-Horng Lung. "An Approach to Software Architecture Analysis for Evolution and Reusability." Software Engineering Institute, Carnegie Mellon University. Software Engineering Institute, November 1, 1997. https://www.sei.cmu.edu/library/an-approach-to-software-architecture-analysis-for-evolution-and-reusability/.

S. Bot, K. Kalaichelvan, R. Kazman, and C. Lung, "An Approach to Software Architecture Analysis for Evolution and Reusability," Software Engineering Institute, Carnegie Mellon University. Software Engineering Institute, 1-Nov-1997 [Online]. Available: https://www.sei.cmu.edu/library/an-approach-to-software-architecture-analysis-for-evolution-and-reusability/. [Accessed: 12-Sep-2026].

Bot, Sonia, Kalai Kalaichelvan, Rick Kazman, and Chung-Horng Lung. "An Approach to Software Architecture Analysis for Evolution and Reusability." Software Engineering Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, Software Engineering Institute, 1 Nov. 1997. https://www.sei.cmu.edu/library/an-approach-to-software-architecture-analysis-for-evolution-and-reusability/. Accessed 12 Sep. 2026.

Bot, Sonia; Kalaichelvan, Kalai ; Kazman, Rick; & Lung, Chung-Horng. An Approach to Software Architecture Analysis for Evolution and Reusability. Software Engineering Institute. 1997. https://www.sei.cmu.edu/library/an-approach-to-software-architecture-analysis-for-evolution-and-reusability/