ATAM-RPG: A role-playing game to teach architecture trade-off analysis method (ATAM)

Teaching software architecture to undergraduate students is particularly hard because they typically have no experience with medium or large systems with competing stakeholders. A particularly hard case is ATAM (Architecture Trade-off Analysis Method), which allows the evaluation of architectural designs and quality attributes by competing stakeholders. This article describes ATAM-RPG, a role-playing game to support the teaching of ATAM by simulating stakeholder's interaction and trade-offs. The initial ATAM-RPG case incorporates the architecture, scenarios and design trade-offs of the Chilean national tsunami alert system (SNAM). The approach was tested by deploying the SNAM case in undergraduate courses; initial results show that ATAM-RPG was well-evaluated regarding trade-off description and understanding (and especially utility trees). Students also recognized the importance of exercising technically-based negotiation skills. We conclude that role playing games can be fruitfully used for software architecture education. © 2017 IEEE.

• Fecha de publicación: 2017
• Institución: Universidad de Medellín
• Repositorio: Repositorio UDEM
• Idioma: eng
• OAI Identifier: oai:repository.udem.edu.co:11407/4912
• Acceso en línea: http://hdl.handle.net/11407/4912
• Palabra clave: architecture trade-off negotiation; ATAM; role playing games; software architecture; software engineering education; Computer software; Interactive computer graphics; Quality control; Software architecture; Software engineering; Students; Teaching; Architecture education; ATAM; Quality attributes; Role-playing game; Trade off; Trade-off analysis; Undergraduate Courses; Undergraduate students; Economic and social effects
• License: http://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_16ec