ArticleMethodsX2026
A systematic mapping study method for software architecture research with LLM-assisted quality assessment.
Article in MethodsX, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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5 authors.
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Abstract
This article describes the protocol used to conduct a systematic mapping study (SMS) of software architecture. The presence of architectural and design instruction in primary studies cannot be determined through search and superficial review alone. A principled quality assessment must be conducted to identify studies that are both relevant and of high quality. LLM assistance offers practical means of performing such assessments in a timely and efficient manner. Therefore, our contribution is threefold: • Guidance for the following SMS steps: tooling setup, database search, deduplication and snowballing, primary study selection, quality assessment, and data extraction. • The rationale and methodology to perform quality assessment on primary studies regarding software architecture. • A method of using large language models (LLMs) together with human evaluators is presented. The method is supported by bespoke open-source software.
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