Scenario-Based Analysis of Software Architecture1

Software architecture is one of the most important tools for designing and understanding a system, whether that system is in preliminary design, active deployment, or maintenance. Scenarios are important tools for exercising an architecture in order to gain information about a system’s fitness with respect to a set of desired quality attributes. This paper presents a set of experiential case studies illustrating the methodological use of scenarios to gain architecture-level understanding and predictive insight into large, real-world systems in various domains. A structured method for scenario-based architectural analysis is presented, using scenarios to analyze architectures with respect to achieving quality attributes. Finally, lessons and morals are presented, drawn from the growing body of experience in applying scenario-based architectural analysis techniques.