SECO-AM: an approach for maintenance of IT architecture in software ecosystems

Abstract

Software acquirer or supplier organizations compose a Software Ecosystem (SECO). The systems used by an organization to achieve its objectives and work processes are supported by technologies included in the SECO’s technology platform, e.g., databases and web servers. Modifications on these technologies can lead to essential systems becoming unsupported or losing performance. Thus, IT managers should consider information about technologies and their relationships. Such information may be spread in different documents and difficult to analyze due to the lack of support. The purpose of this research is to assist IT managers and architects in making decisions regarding the IT architecture modification, i.e., the set of technologies supporting products and services adopted by an organization. Two exploratory studies have indicated features to assist in maintenance, e.g., visualization of SECO networks and use of well-defined criteria. From those studies, we investigated critical factors for maintaining the IT architecture through a literature mapping and an expert opinion survey. As a result, we developed an approach to support technology assessment and analysis by looking at the network structure that represents the organization’s SECO. A prototype implementing the key features of the proposed approach was developed. We evaluated both approach and prototype based on a feasibility study, obtaining positive feedback on the approach’s relevance and prototype’s resources.