An industrial case study on an architectural assumption documentation framework

As an important type of architectural knowledge, documenting architectural assumptions (AAs) is critical to the success of projects. In this work, we proposed and validated an Architectural Assumption Documentation Framework (AADF), which is composed of four viewpoints (i.e., the Detail, Relationship, Tracing, and Evolution viewpoint), to document AAs in projects. One case study with two cases was conducted at two companies from different domains and countries. The main findings are: (1) AADF can be understood by architects in a short time (i.e., a half day workshop); (2) the AA Evolution view requires the least time to create, followed by the AA Detail view and the AA Relationship view; (3) AADF can help stakeholders to identify risks and understand AAs documented by other stakeholders; and (4) understanding and applying AADF is related to various factors, including factors regarding the framework per se (e.g., tutorial, examples, concepts, and terms), personal experience, resources (e.g., time), tool support, and project context (e.g., project size and number of AAs). Adjusting these factors in an appropriate way can facilitate the usage of AADF and further benefit the projects.