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Would you describe your design work and your modelling as rigorous? What does that mean? What separates a rigorous approach from one that isn’t? Do frameworks and models make our work more or less rigorous? Is software engineering at the same scientific level as other engineering disciplines? How could we improve this, if we wanted to? Where did the “science” in Computer Science go?

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Software architecture lacks scientific rigor and operates on beliefs, anecdotes, and unverified methods rather than empirical evidence. The field exists in a 'pre-science' state where practitioners use diverse, unvalidated toolboxes shaped by personal experience. Architecture faces an identity crisis, rejected by both developers and executives, while struggling to define itself. Moving toward scientific foundations requires falsifiable theories, peer review, and generalizable experiments—not just case studies. The engineering paradigm is failing, and architects must demand empirical verification of their methods, think critically about their tools, and build knowledge from the ground up rather than accepting top-down frameworks without scrutiny.

Architecture as Science - Barry O'Reilly - NDC Oslo 2025