Uwe van Heesch

// Über michAbout me

Ich bin Professor an der Fakultät für Informatik und Ingenieurwissenschaften der TH Köln, Campus Gummersbach, und leidenschaftlicher Software Engineer. Mein Schwerpunkt ist Code Quality, von sauberem Code über automatisiertes Testen bis hin zu Continuous Integration und Delivery.

I am a professor at the Faculty of Computer Science and Engineering Science at TH Köln, Gummersbach Campus, and a passionate software engineer. My focus is on code quality, from clean code and automated testing to continuous integration and delivery.

In der Forschung beschäftige ich mich mit Software Architecture, insbesondere Architecture Knowledge Management, Architecture Evaluation und AI-assisted Code Quality. Derzeit untersuche ich die Implikationen autonomer KI-Coding-Agenten: Welche Chancen und Risiken ergeben sich für Entwicklungsprozesse wie Scrum, für Methoden wie Decision-Centric Architecture Reviews (DCAR), für KI-gestütztes individuelles Lernen und für die Hochschullehre in der Informatik?

My research centers on software architecture, particularly architecture knowledge management, architecture evaluation, and AI-assisted Code Quality. I am currently investigating the implications of autonomous AI coding agents, exploring the opportunities and risks they bring to development processes like Scrum, to methods like Decision-Centric Architecture Reviews (DCAR), to AI-assisted personal learning, and to how we teach computer science in higher education.

In der Lehre ist es mir wichtig, dass Studierende nah an industriellen Standards arbeiten, mit echten Werkzeugen, echten Prozessen und echtem Code.

In my teaching, I believe students learn best when they work close to industry standards, with real tools, real processes, and real code.

Vor meiner Berufung an die TH Köln war ich Softwarearchitekt und DevOps-Ingenieur in der Industrie, Academiemanager und Hoofddocent für Informatik an der Hochschule von Arnhem und Nijmegen sowie Projektleiter bei Capgemini. Promoviert habe ich an der Universität Groningen im Bereich Software Engineering und Architektur.

Before joining TH Köln, I worked as a software architect and DevOps engineer in industry, served as Academy Manager and Senior Lecturer for Computer Science at HAN University of Applied Sciences, and was a project lead at Capgemini. I hold a PhD in Software Engineering and Architecture from the University of Groningen.

// Aktuelle LehrmoduleCurrent Modules

// Tools für StudierendeTools for Students

Eine Sammlung von Open-Source-Projekten und Vorlagen, die ich für Lehre, wissenschaftliches Arbeiten und Softwareentwicklung bereitstelle. Beiträge und Feedback sind willkommen.

A collection of open-source projects and templates I provide for teaching, academic writing, and software development. Contributions and feedback are welcome.

// Ausgewählte PublikationenSelected Publications

Dissertation

• van Heesch, U. (2012). Architecture decisions: The next step. Understanding, modeling, supporting, and reviewing architecture decisions [Doctoral dissertation, University of Groningen].

Fachzeitschriften

Journals

• van Heesch, U. (2026). Dear Researchers: The craft that I have practiced for the last twenty years no longer exists. What happens when AI agents become operational actors in software engineering? Journal of Systems and Software. doi:10.1016/j.jss.2026.113000 (Preprint)
• Theunissen, T., van Heesch, U., & Avgeriou, P. (2022). A mapping study on documentation in Continuous Software Development. Information and Software Technology, 142, 106733.
• van Heesch, U., Jansen, A., Pei-Breivold, H., Avgeriou, P., & Manteuffel, C. (2017). Platform design space exploration using architecture decision viewpoints – A longitudinal study. Journal of Systems and Software, 124(C), 56–81.
• van Heesch, U., Eloranta, V. P., Avgeriou, P., Koskimies, K., & Harrison, N. (2014). Decision-centric architecture reviews. IEEE Software, 31(1), 69–76.
• van Heesch, U., Avgeriou, P., & Tang, A. (2013). Does decision documentation help junior designers rationalize their decisions? A comparative multiple-case study. Journal of Systems and Software, 86(6), 1545–1565.
• van Heesch, U., Avgeriou, P., & Hilliard, R. (2012). A documentation framework for architecture decisions. Journal of Systems and Software, 85(4), 795–820.
• van Heesch, U., Avgeriou, P., Zdun, U., & Harrison, N. (2012). The supportive effect of patterns in architecture decision recovery – A controlled experiment. Science of Computer Programming, 77(5), 551–576.

Konferenzen

Conferences

• van Heesch, U., Zimmermann, O., & Kohls, C. (2026). What will remain human in software architecture? A focus group report. In Proceedings of the 31st European Conference on Pattern Languages of Programs, People, and Practices (EuroPLoP 2026). (arXiv-Preprint: 2609.30334)
• Jacobs, T., & van Heesch, U. (2022). Supporting ICT-students to make the most out of their projects. In Proceedings of the 27th European Conference on Pattern Languages of Programs (pp. 1–13).
• Van Heesch, U., Theunissen, T., Zimmermann, O., & Zdun, U. (2017). Software specification and documentation in continuous software development: A focus group report. In Proceedings of the 22nd European Conference on Pattern Languages of Programs (pp. 1–13).
• Theunissen, T., & Van Heesch, U. (2017). Specification in continuous software development. In Proceedings of the 22nd European Conference on Pattern Languages of Programs (pp. 1–19).
• Theunissen, T., & van Heesch, U. (2016). The disappearance of technical specifications in web and mobile applications. In 10th European Conference on Software Architecture, ECSA 2016 (pp. 265–273). Springer.
• Köppe, C., Inventado, P. S., Scupelli, P., & van Heesch, U. (2016). Towards extending online pattern repositories: Supporting the design pattern lifecycle. In Proceedings of the 23rd Conference on Pattern Languages of Programs. ACM.
• van Heesch, U. (2015). Collaboration patterns for offshore software development. In Proceedings of the 20th European Conference on Pattern Languages of Programs. ACM.
• Hoppenbrouwers, S., van Heesch, U., & Koppe, C. (2015). Using work agreements as operation-time system requirements for emergent work community support systems. In Proceedings of the 1st Workshop on Continuous Requirements Engineering.
• van Heesch, U., Avgeriou, P., & Hilliard, R. (2012). Forces on architecture decisions – A viewpoint. In Proceedings of the 2012 Joint Working IEEE/IFIP Conference on Software Architecture and European Conference on Software Architecture (pp. 101–110). IEEE.
• van Heesch, U., van den Ham, R., & van den Hombergh, P. (2012). Assessment patterns: A pattern language for assessing students' work in computer science courses. In Proceedings of the 17th European Conference on Pattern Languages of Programs.
• van Heesch, U., & Avgeriou, P. (2011). Mature architecting – A survey about the reasoning process of professional architects. In Proceedings of the 9th Working IEEE/IFIP Conference on Software Architecture (pp. 260–269). IEEE.
• van Heesch, U., Mahdavi-Hezavehi, S., & Avgeriou, P. (2011). Combining architectural patterns and software technologies in one design language. In Proceedings of the 16th European Conference on Pattern Languages of Programs.
• van Heesch, U., & Avgeriou, P. (2010). Naive architecting – Understanding the reasoning process of students: A descriptive survey. In Proceedings of the 4th European Conference on Software Architecture (pp. 24–37). Springer.
• van Heesch, U., & Avgeriou, P. (2009). A pattern driven approach against architectural knowledge vaporization. In Proceedings of the 14th European Conference on Pattern Languages of Programs.

Buchkapitel

Book Chapters

• Eloranta, V., van Heesch, U., Avgeriou, P., Harrison, N., & Koskimies, K. (2014). Lightweight evaluation of software architecture decisions. In I. Mistrík, P. Eeles, R. Bahsoon, & M. Stal (Eds.), System Quality and Software Architecture.

// KontaktContact