I. Groher, R. Weinreich: Collecting Requirements and Ideas for Architectural Group Decision-Making Based on Four Approaches, 9th European Conference on Software Architecture (ECSA 2015), Dubrovnik/Cavtat, Croatia, September 7-11, 2015, doi:10.1007/978-3-319-23727-5_15.


To collect requirements and ideas for architectural group decision-making (GDM), we present and analyze four different approaches to GDM that were developed by master’s students in a practical course at our university. The students involved had about five years of practical experience on average, and roughly 80% of the students were working as software engineers while enrolled. We analyze the four approaches based on the criteria for evaluating approaches to architectural GDM defined by Rekha and Muccini; nearly all approaches fulfilled most criteria. Two criteria – support for conflict resolution and revisiting information – were partly addressed. The criterion of prioritizing group members was not addressed at all. The student-developed approaches provided some new ideas for architectural GDM, such as communication between stakeholders directly in the GDM tool and review of decisions after they have been made.

Collecting Requirements and Ideas for Architectural Group Decision-Making Based on Four Approaches