Issues in architectural modeling and evolution in the know-it-all case study

The Know-It-All Project is investigating methodologies for the development, application, and evolution of frameworks. A concrete framework for database management systems is being developed as a case study for the methodology research. The methodology revolves around a set of models for the domain, the functionality, the architecture, the design, and the code. These models reflect the common and variable features of the domain. There are several issues with respect to architecture that we have encountered and are exploring. These include: (1) the choice of models for the architecture; (2) the design of the architecture and its evaluation; (3) the evolution of the architecture by extending the concept of refactoring from source code to architecture; and (4) the modeling of variation in architectures across the product line. The point of the paper is to report on the status of architectural modeling in our case study and to highlight issues still to be resolved.