Software Engineering
Software architecture researchers tackle foundational questions at ICSE 2026
A community workshop surfaces key research challenges in software architecture, from managing technology's societal impact to balancing flexibility with stability.
At the 2026 International Conference on Software Engineering (ICSE), researchers gathered to step back from incremental advances and ask what truly matters in their field. A community-led birds-of-a-feather session aimed to distinguish between genuine research problems and mere technological hype in software architecture.
Why this matters now#
Software architecture sits at a critical juncture. It must grapple with how technology reshapes society and our planet, while simultaneously navigating tensions between human agency and automated systems, architectural flexibility and operational stability, and economic efficiency against user autonomy. Rather than chase every emerging trend, the community recognized a need to identify which questions are worth serious scientific investigation.
The initiative#
Organised as part of a two-session effort spanning both ICSE and ICSA (International Conference on Software Architecture), the first workshop convened thought leaders to surface and debate these foundational questions. This report documents findings from the initial ICSE session, with plans to expand and refine the agenda using input from the companion ICSA discussion.
What's ahead#
The project remains open-ended—framed as "to be continued"—signalling an ongoing community conversation about where software architecture research should focus in the years ahead.