Understanding and Alerting Architecture Erosion during Software Development

Architecture in software systems may experience degradation over time as a result of accumulated changes. As the system evolves, the accumulation of such problems (e.g., architectural violations) can cause the implemented architecture to deviate away from the intended architecture. The phenomenon of divergence between the intended and implemented architectures is regarded as architecture erosion. An eroded architecture can aggravate the brittleness of the system and decrease architecture sustainability. For instance, a software system with an eroded architecture may lead to the deterioration of the engineering quality of the system and make it challenging for developers to comprehend the internal structure of the system. This research project aims to increase understanding of architecture erosion and provide strategies for mitigating its effects. Our objective is to assist researchers and practitioners in detecting and mitigating architecture erosion, with the aim of (partially) resolving this issue.