1. Active Review for Intermediate Designs [Clements, 2000]

2. Introduction A piloted software design review technique
A blend of stakeholder-centric, scenario-based, architecture evaluation method (ATAM and ADR)
Goal: expose design to allow early feedback
Designers want:
To know if the design is tenable
To unveil the design to the community of software writers

3. Benefits Provides valuable insight into design’s viability
Allow for timely discovery of errors, inconsistencies, or inadequacies

4. Active Design Reviews (ADR)
Effective technique for ensuring quality, detailed designs in software [Parnas, 85]
Actively engaging reviewers to utilize the design in a series of exercises
Conventional design review:
Examine stacks of documentation
Checklist to ensure design meets certain standards

6. ADRs evaluate detailed designs of modules Questions address:
Quality and completeness of documentation
Sufficiency, fitness, and suitability of the services provided by the design

7. Architecture Tradeoff Analysis Method (ATAM)
A scenario-based design review techniques
Scenarios proven to be valuable in the evaluation of system and software designs
Relies on the present of the stakeholders
Elicits business goals for system and its architecture
Uses those goals and stakeholder participation to focus attention to key portions of the architecture

8. Benefits of ATAM Benefits: Financial gains Forced preparation
Captured rationale
Early detection of problems
Validation of requirements
Improved architecture

9. Phases in ATAM

10. Example Utility Tree Performance Utility Usability Maintainability
Transaction response time (H, M)
Performance
Throughput
150 transactions/sec
Training
Utility
Usability
Normal operations
Database vendor releases
new version
Maintainability

11. ARID ADR/ATAM hybrid ADR requires active reviewer participation
ATAM embraced stakeholder-generated scenarios
Three groups of participants:
ARID review team (facilitator, scribe, process observer)
Lead designer
Reviewers (stakeholders)

12. Overview of ARID Steps

13. Phase One Phase 1: Pre-meeting (between lead designer and facilitator)
Identify reviewers
Prepare design presentation
Facilitator ask “first order” questions
Identify areas to improve presentation
Set the pace for the presentation
A practice to the designer

14. Phase One … (2) Prepare seed scenarios Prepare for the review meeting
Designer and facilitator prepare sample set of scenarios
E.g. a user in a particular context asks for help, and the system provides help for that context.
Prepare for the review meeting
Produce copies of presentation, seed scenarios, and review agenda

15. Phase Two Phase 2: Review Meeting
Present ARID method (30 mins by facilitator)
Present design (no questions nor suggestions allowed except on factual clarification)
Scribe jots down every questions
Brainstorm and prioritize scenarios
Perform review
Provides pseudo code to solve problems posed by the scenario
Present conclusions

16. Output of ARID Initial Architecture
System overview from a business perspective:
Most important functions
Any relevant technical, managerial, economic, or political constraint
Business goals that relate to the project
Major stakeholders
Major quality attributes
Set of seed of scenarios

17. Output of ARID … (2)
Set of scenarios and their prioritization from the brainstorming
The Utility Tree
Issues and problems