Characterizing Relations between Architectural Views
(2008)DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-88030-1_7
Abstract
It is commonly agreed that an architectural description (AD) consists of multiple views. Each view describes the architecture from the perspective of particular stakeholder concerns. Although views are constructed separately, they are related as they describe the same system. A thorough study of the literature reveals that research on relations between views is fragmented and that a comprehensive study is hampered by an absence of common terminology. This has become apparent in the discussion on inter-view relational concepts in the revision of IEEE 1471 as ISO/IEC 42010 (Systems and Software Engineering — Architectural Description). This paper puts forward a framework that employs a consistent terminology to characterize relations between views. The framework sheds light on the usage, scope and mechanisms for relations, and is illustrated using several representative approaches from the literature. We conclude with a reflection on whether the revision of ISO 42010 aligns with our findings.