Software architectural degradation measured widely but fixes lag behind
Architectural Degradation: How to Measure and to Remediate
Software Engineering
Summary
Architectural degradation in software makes it harder to maintain and improve programs over time. The authors examined hundreds of studies to see how this problem is measured, what tools and metrics are used, and how people try to fix it. They found many ways to detect degradation but fewer agreed-upon methods to fix it effectively. This means while developers can spot problems well, there is less clear guidance on how to repair architectural issues. Their work highlights that connecting detection to practical fixes is an important direction for future research.
What this means in practice
- •For software architects: Improve architectural monitoring by selecting the best measurement tools and metrics identified across extensive research.
- •For software development managers: Design remediation efforts informed by a broad catalog of code-level and organizational fixes for architectural problems.
A survey. It maps existing work.
Authors
Noman Ahmad, Ruoyu Su, Matteo Esposito, Andrea Janes, Valentina Lenarduzzi, Davide Taibi
Abstract
Context. Architectural degradation undermines software maintainability, evolvability, and quality. However, existing research remains fragmented across measurement approaches, metrics, tools, and remediation strategies, limiting our understanding of how these elements relate across the degradation lifecycle. Aim. We consolidate the state of the art on architectural degradation by examining how researchers measure it, which metrics and tools support its assessment, and how existing approaches address remediation. Method. We conducted a Multivocal Literature Review of 284 peer-reviewed and grey-literature studies. We supported screening, data extraction, and classification with a locally executed LLM-assisted pipeline combining Retrieval-Augmented Generation, multi-model validation, and human adjudication. We then analyzed the resulting taxonomies and their cross-dimensional relationships. Results and Conclusions. We identified 277 measurement approaches, 357 metrics, 238 tools, and 395 remediation approaches. Research strongly concentrates on static and structural analysis, structural metrics, and detection-oriented tools. In contrast, remediation spans heterogeneous code-level, architectural, and organizational interventions and shows substantially less consolidation. Overall, the field has developed a mature diagnostic apparatus but has made less progress in connecting degradation detection with effective remediation. Our results provide a structured view of the available techniques and identify the diagnosis-remediation gap as a key direction for future research.