A survey on software architectural assumptions

•Conducted with 112 practitioners, who use Chinese as native language.•Practitioners understand architectural assumption in different ways.•Architectural assumptions are important in software architecting and development.•A classification of the definitions of architectural assumption is provided.•Reasons of not identifying and recording architectural assumptions are collected.

ContextManaging architectural assumptions (AA) during the software lifecycle, as an important type of architecture knowledge, is critical to the success of projects. However, little empirical evidence exists on the understanding, identification, and recording of AA from the practitioners’ perspective.ObjectiveWe investigated the current situation on (1) how practitioners understand AA and its importance, and (2) whether and how practitioners identify and record AA in software development.MethodA web-based survey was conducted with 112 practitioners, who use Chinese as native language and are engaged in software development in China.ResultsThe main findings are: (1) AA are important in both software architecting and development. However, practitioners understand AA in different ways; (2) only a few respondents identified and recorded AA in their projects, and very few approaches and tools were used for identifying and recording AA; (3) the lack of specific approaches and tools is the major challenge (reason) of (not) identifying and recording AA.ConclusionsThe results emphasize the need for a widely accepted understanding of the AA concept in software development, and specific approaches, tools, and guidelines to support AA identification and recording.