Widening the Scope of Software Architecting

For many years the software architecting process has been understood as the engineering of a software architecture solution. This is typically documented in a number of views, which illustrate the aspects judged relevant for a number of addressed stakeholders. This perspective can be defined as “architecture as a product”. In this paper we focus on the shift from “architecture as a product” towards “architecture as a process”, with a stronger focus on how software architects arrive at a certain software architecture solution. We analyze the activities professional architects carry out. By classifying them, comparing them with the state of the art and practice, and by identifying the architectural knowledge created by these activities we extend the list of competencies modern software architects should have. This reflects the general trend in software architecting, where the ability to manage and communicate large amounts of highly specialized knowledge is increasingly crucial.