Learning From Each Other: How Are Architectural Mistakes Communicated in Industry?

Abstract: Context. Own experiences and faulty decisions can be an important source of information for software architects. The experiences and mistakes of other architects can also be valuable information sources. Goal. Under the assumption that the knowledge about faulty decisions, i.e., mistakes, regarding software architecture is not shared adequately in practice, this work qualitatively investigates the handling and particularly communication of those mistakes by software architects. Method. We conducted a grounded-theory study in which we interviewed ten German software architects from various domains. Results. We identified software architects' definitions of architectural mistakes, their handling of these mistakes, and their preferred communication strategies regarding these mistakes. We found that architects communicate mistakes mainly within their project teams and seldom within or across companies. Conclusions. We derived strategies to make learning and prevention of mistakes more effective. To share experiences and knowledge beyond architects' peer groups, companies should invest more effort in discussing mistakes more consciously and create an environment where mistakes can be discussed openly.