Architecting for Quality: The Strategic Role of Architectural Design from Monoliths to Agentic Systems
Software quality is not achieved through testing alone; it is secured through intentional design. In this keynote, we will explore the foundational and evolving role of Software Architecture as the primary driver of quality assurance.
We begin by examining the timeless relationship between architectural decisions and fundamental Quality Attributes (QAs). We will demonstrate how pre-development analysis and trade-off methods enable architects to "shift left" on quality, ensuring that non-functional requirements are met before development begins.
The second half of the keynote addresses the most critical challenge facing architects today: guaranteeing quality in systems driven by Generative AI and LLM Agents. As we transition from deterministic code to probabilistic outputs, traditional quality metrics become inadequate. We will present architectural proposals for mitigating risks and ensuring faithfulness and steerability in AI-driven applications. In parallel, we will outline ongoing research that utilizes Generative AI and LLM agents to support quality design.
Biographie
Henry Muccini is a Professor of Software Engineering at the University of L’Aquila, Italy. He earned his Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Rome “La Sapienza” and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of California, Irvine.
With more than two decades of experience in the software architecture community, his work focuses on the evolution of software architecture and its intersection with artificial intelligence, large language models (LLMs), and autonomous agents. His research explores how these technologies are transforming the design, reasoning, and validation of complex software systems.
Professor Muccini currently serves as Chair of the Steering Committee of the IEEE International Conference on Software Architecture (ICSA) and is a member of the Steering Committees for the European Conference on Software Architecture (ECSA) and the IEEE International Conference on AI Engineering (CAIN). Since 2019, he has been actively researching the convergence of software architecture and machine learning through publications, workshops, special issues, and international research seminars.
He leads the FrAmeLab research laboratory, where emerging challenges at the intersection of AI, green software, and complex software systems are explored. Professor Muccini is passionate about sharing knowledge and fostering collaboration within the international research and practitioner community.
Feel free to connect with him on LinkedIn or visit the FrAmeLab website to learn more.