In this paper we perform a pilot study of evaluation of integration strategies in an automotive electronics system context. We describe the problem of choosing integration strategy and we outline the use of the Architecture Tradeoff and Analysis Method, ATAM, for evaluating integration strategies.
We exemplify the use of the ATAM by evaluating the integration decisions concerning the physical connection of a theoretic example system; a computer controlled automatic gearbox. A utility tree describing the most important qualities of the product is elicited by interviews with system architects and product specialists at Volvo Construction Equipment. We show how an evaluation score card can be used to aid in integration decisions.
Also, perform preliminary analysis and provide some discussion points from the result. This early analysis shows that ATAM has weaknesses in that it is sensitive to errors in the elicitation process and that the weighting of the resulting scenarios can be coarse grained. One strength of the ATAM is that design decisions and quality goals become visible to many stakeholders. Our proposed use of ATAM does not include any cost or effort estimates, but only relative quality estimates.
In our pilot study example we find that the integration of a software component as opposed to integration of a whole ECU, ranks higher with respect to the desired qualities.