Use of the Architecture Tradeoff Analysis Method (ATAM) in Source Selection of Software-Intensive Systems
June 2002 • Technical Note
John K. Bergey, Matt Fisher, Lawrence G. Jones
This report explains the role of software architecture evaluation in a source selection and describes the contractual elements that are needed to support its use.
Publisher:
Software Engineering Institute
CMU/SEI Report Number
CMU/SEI-2002-TN-010
DOI (Digital Object Identifier):
10.1184/R1/6585656.v1Subjects
Abstract
Software architecture is critical to the quality of a software-intensive system. For an acquisition organization, such as the Department of Defense (DoD), the ability to evaluate software architectures as early as possible in an acquisition can have a favorable impact on the delivered system. This technical note explains the role of software architecture evaluation in a source selection and describes the contractual elements that are needed to support its use. The note then briefly describes the Architecture Tradeoff Analysis Method (ATAM) and provides an example that shows how to apply this method in a source selection. The example includes sample contractual language that an acquirer can adapt to meet specific acquisition needs.