Requirements and Systems Architecture Interaction in a Prototypical Project: Emerging Results

[Context and Motivation] Subsequent to an exploratory laboratory study on the effects of Software Architecture (SA) on Requirements Engineering (RE), in this paper, we present preliminary results of an extension of this initial study by conducting a case study on a large-scale prototypical rail project. [Question/Problem] Specifically, we ask “What is the role of an SA on Requirements decision-making?”. [Principal Ideas/Results] Specific types of architectural effects on requirements decisions are identified. The impact of the affected requirements decisions on downstream processes and the product itself is also characterized. [Contribution] The understanding gained from this study has implications on such areas as: project planning, risk, RE, and others.