Title: The process of architecting for software/system engineering

Authors: Amine Chigani; Osman Balci

Addresses: Department of Computer Science, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech), Blacksburg, Virginia 24061, USA. ' Department of Computer Science, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech), Blacksburg, Virginia 24061, USA

Abstract: With the advent of potent network technology, software/system engineering has evolved from a traditional platform-centric focus into a network-centric paradigm where the 'system of systems' perspective has been the norm. Under this paradigm, architecting has become a critical process in the life cycle of software/system engineering. The need for a structured description of the architecting process is undeniable. This paper fulfils that need and provides a structured description of the process of architecting a software-based network-centric system of systems. The architecting process is described using a set of goals that are specific to architecting, and the associated specific practices that enable the realisation of these goals. The architecting process description presented herein is intended to guide the software/system architects.

Keywords: network-centric system architecting; architecting process description; software architecting; software architecture; software-based system architecting; system of systems architecting; software engineering; system engineering.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSSE.2012.046533

International Journal of System of Systems Engineering, 2012 Vol.3 No.1, pp.1 - 23

Received: 13 Sep 2010
Accepted: 08 Nov 2010

Published online: 16 Aug 2014 *

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