Assignment 2
Fundamentals of Software Architecture
Influence of Architecture Attributes and Styles on
DevOps Transformation [1],[2],[3]
Background
The popularity of Development and Operations (DevOps) and Continuous Delivery (CD)
practice as a promising approach to develop and release software at an accelerated pace has
motivated a widespread research and industrial interest.
The transformation towards DevOps is heavily influenced by software architecture decision. We
need to analyze and understand those architectural decisions, to promote and deploy software
architecture attributes and styles that are compatible and supportive to DevOps-CD objectives.
It is important to understand how an application should be re-architected to support DevOps.
A conceptual framework is needed to supplement the architecting process in a CD context
through introducing the quality attributes that are required to design and deploy operationsfriendly
architectures.
Reference papers
[1] On the Role of Software Architecture in DevOps Transformation: An Industrial Case Study
Mojtaba Shahin a, M. Ali Babar b, a Faculty of IT, Monash University, Australia b School of Computer
Science, University of Adelaide, Australia
https://arxiv.org/ftp/arxiv/papers/2003/2003.06108.pdf
[2] Designing Software Architecture to Support Continuous Delivery and DevOps: A Systematic Literature
Review. Robin Bolscher and Maya Daneva. University of Twente, Drienerlolaan 5, Enschede.
Based on, and according to the referenced three papers, please complete
the following tasks, concisely, briefly, and clearly:
1- Read the three papers and provide a 400-500 words paper summary (use your own
authentic review, and avoid copying unless it is a quotation) of the most important issues
presented for each paper separately, such as research approach (methodology), most
important findings, implication of findings, and conclusion. Include one paragraph to
present you own opinion of the significance and quality of each paper (for specific
details of your summaries, see more details below*. (18 pts)
2- Provide six key architectural decisions that are essential to DevOps transformation.
Provide explanation for each decision with its stated concerns, and implications. (20 pts)
3- Provide 10 attributes of software architecture that are the most important for enabling
CD and DevOps. Explain for each how it impacts DevOps outcome.
State the ones that are most researched in literature (20 pts)
4- What software architecture style is most suitable for being considered in a CD and
DevOps context? Explain the motives for using such style to promote CD/DevOps
practice (16 pts)
5- Achieving DevOps-driven architecture requires loosely coupled architectures and
prioritizing deployability, testability, supportability, and modifiability over other quality
attributes. A conceptual framework [3] shows how to re-architect for CD.
Task response with Max 300 words.
What are the main parts that this framework is consist of? (5 pts)
What are the fundamental motivations behind this framework development? (7 pts)
Explain (in details) how this conceptual framework can support re-architecting a system
for CD support. (14 pts)
*Recommended Research Summary Structure and Organization
Headline – the first contact between the research summary and a reader is its title. Generally, headlines formed as
questions work perfectly. At the beginning of the writing process, it may be tricky to come up with a headline. Instead,
create it once you’re done with writing, you’ll have plenty of ideas to use
What is this research about? (3-5 sentences) – introduce the research and its primary objective. Consider this part as
an announcement of some event, you need to provide necessary details to ensure audience understands everything
and wants to learn more. Define important terms from the research paper, especially if they aren’t common
knowledge.
Methods (5-10 sentences) – research summary (and original file) aren’t just about findings that are of huge interest
for the topic, methods also matter. Once you’ve explained the purpose of the research, move on to describe the
methodology and elaborate how researchers collected data and include examples of questions that were asked.
Findings (5-10 sentences) – this section is unavoidable. After researchers or scientists implemented their methods,
what did they discover? Describe key findings from the study itself. Don’t waste your time including every finding from
a specific study, just the key points.
How can you use the research? (3-7 sentences) – describe how findings from the research can be used by
practitioners in different fields. Identify who would be interested in the results of the study
Conclusion (3-4 sentences) – this section tells a reader what he/she needs to know about the research. Basically, this
is a short overview of the summary that compiles key points of the study and its finding into a single section.