# Research Infusion 2008

# Tool or Technology Information

**[Contact Information]{.underline}**

Name of Tool/Technology: Views and Beyond Approach to Software
Architecture Documentation (V&B)

Name of Technology Provider: Software Engineering Institute

Primary Point of Contact (PPC): Paul Clements

PPC Phone No.: 412-268-5800

PPC e-mail: <clements@sei.cmu.edu>

Alternate Contact Name (APC): Robert Nord

APC Phone No.: 412-268-1705

APC e-mail: <rn@sei.cmu.edu>

Technology Provider Website:
<http://www.sei.cmu.edu/architecture/arch_doc.html>

Technology Provider Address: Software Engineering Institute

Customer Relations

4500 Fifth Avenue

Pittsburgh, PA 15213-2612

USA

**[Technology/Tool Details]{.underline}**

Description of Technology/Tool: Because architectures are intellectual
constructs of enduring and long-lived importance, communicating an
architecture to its stakeholders becomes as important a job as creating
it in the first place. If the architecture cannot be understood so that
others can build systems from it, analyze it, maintain it, and learn
from it, then the effort put into crafting it will by and large have
been wasted. Researchers at the Software Engineering Institute (SEI) and
the Carnegie Mellon School of Computer Science set out to answer the
question: \"How should you document an architecture so that others can
successfully use it, maintain it, and build a system from it?\" The
result of that work is an approach we call \"Views and Beyond\" or
\"V&B\". A view is a representation of a set of system elements and the
relations associated with them. Views are representations of the many
system structures that are present simultaneously in software systems.
The basic principle of V&B is that documenting a software architecture
involves documenting the relevant views, and then documenting the
information that applies to more than one view. V&B includes a method
for choosing the relevant views based on the structures that are
inherent in the software architecture and on the needs and concerns of
the architecture documentation\'s stakeholders. It shows how to document
views, and how to document the information that applies across views. It
also covers practical information such as how to judiciously combine
views to avoid documentation overload, and how to document well-known
architectural constructs using UML.

Commercial or Research Technology: Research

Associated Program:

Potential Benefits: Decreased development costs due to less
backtracking; decreased life cycle costs due to more focused maintenance
efforts; increased likelihood of architecture (and therefore the system)
meeting its requirements; clarity concerning the requirements that
wielded the most influence over the architecture. IV&V can begin with
architecture, but cannot begin unless that architecture is clearly and
unambiguously captured in documentation. The V&B approach can facilitate
successful implementation of an architecture for IV&V activities.

Supported Platforms: NA -- Approach is independent of any specific
technology

Required Inputs: The inputs required to produce a software architecture:
behavioral and quality requirements, design constraints, and a knowledge
of the architecture\'s stakeholders and their concerns

Outputs Produced: A software architecture document, structured as a set
of the most relevant views (module views, runtime views, deployment
views, data model), plus documentation containing information that
transcends the views

**[Maturity Level]{.underline}**

Applied to Real Problems? Yes No

If Yes, Level of Success Achieved: The method has been taught to several
hundred architects in hundreds of government and civilian organizations,
and has been adopted at least in part by many of them. The US Army\'s
Future Combat Systems project uses an architecture documentation
organization whose roots come from V&B.

Already in Use within NASA? Yes No Unknown

If Yes, at what center(s):

**[Support]{.underline}**

User/Ref. Documentation Available: Clements, Bachmann, Bass, Garlan,
Ivers, Little, Nord, Stafford. \"Documenting Software Architectures:
Views and Beyond,\" Addison Wesley, 2002.

Phone Support Available: No

Is Tech Developer willing to support infusion effort? Yes No

**[Licensing]{.underline}**

Is Tech Developer willing to provide Evaluation Copy for extended period
of time? Yes No N/A

**[Other Information]{.underline}**