Prerequisites

• Strong interest in software engineering
• Basic knowledge in software architecture
• Interest in research
• Good English skills (fluent in speaking and writing)

General topics

In this seminar we investigate current topics in software architecture. Software architecture is a very vibrant research field which covers many different aspects, from software architecture components and their relations, to architecture decisions, modelling and documentation, to software architecture in specific domains–nowadays all permeated by artificial intelligence. The architecture of a software system strongly influences the systems’ properties and qualities already at early design and development stages. Thus, software architecture research is of high relevance to build future-proof software systems.

The seminar introduces students to software architecture-related topics, problems and practices, both from a research and a practitioners angle.

General topics include:

• Software architecture design
• Requirements and architecture
• Architectural knowledge management and decisions
• Architectural styles and patterns
• Architectures for the Cloud–Edge Continuum
• Domain-specific software architectures
• Software architecture lifecycles (DevOps, modernization of legacy systems, refactoring, evolution, etc)
• Sustainability in software architectures

In all these topics, we will put a special emphasis on how modern LLMs are currently being used and how they could be used to support these activities in the future.

Seminar concept

The goal of this seminar is to introduce students to research, scientific processes, paper writing and the presentation of their findings. All proposed topics are of high relevance and actively researched by the software architecture and related communities. Research papers of the main softare architecture conferences (ICSA and ECSA) from recent years serve as starting points for students’ own research activities and literature studies.

The seminar will be held to simulate an entire scientific conference, including:

• Grasping a research problem,
• Literature research,
• Paper writing,
• Peer reviewing of papers,
• Presentation of findings.

To simulate more realistic research and writing processes, students will have the option to work in groups of two.

Schedule

• 04/10/2026: Publication of available topics
• 04/13/2026: Kick-Off meeting

More details will follow.

Successful participation requirements

The participants have to meet the following requirements:

• attend the kickoff meeting,
• attend all meetings with the supervisor,
• meet all deadlines (to be announced),
• write a paper on their research topic (8 pages including references in English; LaTeX template will be provided),
• review the paper of one of their peers (in English),
• give their final presentation (in English),
• attend all presentations of the seminar,
• actively participate in the discussions following each presentation

All requirements have to be met to pass the seminar and are considered in the grading. If you cannot meet one of the requirements for a good reason, contact the supervisor in advance / at the earliest time possible to discuss how to proceed.