Design and evaluation of a process for identifying architecture patterns in open source software

Architecture patterns have a direct effect (positive or negative) on a system’s quality attributes (e.g., performance). Therefore, information about patterns used in a product can provide valuable insights to, e.g., component integrators who wish to evaluate a software product. Unfortunately, this information is often not readily available, in particular for Open Source Software (OSS) products, which are increasingly used in component-based development. This paper presents the design and evaluation of a process for Identifying Architecture Patterns in OSS (“IDAPO”). The results of the evaluation suggest that IDAPO is helpful to identify potentially present patterns, and that a process framework may provide better opportunities for tailoring to the users’ needs.