Abstract
This thesis presents an exploration of the potential application of software architecture evaluation techniques to the domain of service design. The domain of software architecture and the evolution of software architecture evaluation techniques are explored, and compared with the emerging domain of service design. Similarities between the two domains lead to the notion of 'Service Architecture', and a novel method for conducting ex-ante evaluations of competing service designs, the Service Architecture Review Method is presented. It is derived from Architecture Trade-off Analysis Method from the Software Engineering Institute, with a quality model that has been adapted to describe service quality, and incorporating a stakeholder model to cater for the varied stakeholder perspectives often involved in services. A software tool to support the participants in the method's evaluation workshops is described.A case study, representing the first use of this proposed method in a service design project at the UK Border Agency, is presented. Participants in the method's workshops were subsequently interviewed, and learnings from the case study are presented and discussed. The experience of the case study led to some improvements to the method, which is described in the form of a 'User Guide' in this thesis, as one of this research project's significant contributions to practice. The thesis presents a number of contributions to theory in addition to the above-mentioned concept of 'Service Architecture'. These include the use of a service quality model and a stakeholder model in the evaluation method, and the use of this resulting method for evaluation in a service design project, and as an enhanced method for evaluating competing software architectures.
Future research avenues are proposed, addressing some of the limitations of the research presented in this thesis related to the wider applicability of the method beyond the case study presented here, and possible further refinement of the method itself. Potential to transfer other learnings from the domain of software architecture to service design is also discussed and the thesis concludes with a discussion of the significance of these contributions to the maturing domain of service design.
| Date of Award | 17 Oct 2017 |
|---|---|
| Original language | English |
| Supervisor | Jennifer Law (Supervisor) & Catherine Farrell (Supervisor) |