Key takeaways
- Architecture and Solutions Continuums complement each other.
- Generality and specificity describe assets rather than team competence.
- Reuse requires conscious adaptation to context.
Two connected continuums
The Enterprise Continuum is a way to classify architecture and solution assets by their degree of generality. The Architecture Continuum concerns architecture descriptions and concepts; the Solutions Continuum concerns their realizations. Architecture guides solutions, while experience with solutions can improve architectural assets.
Both continuums distinguish Foundation, Common Systems, Industry, and Organization-Specific assets. A general capability can be adapted to a common need, then to a sector, and finally to a particular enterprise. These are not four mandatory sequential project phases or four organizational maturity levels.
Tailor and learn from reuse
Moving towards more specific assets addresses concrete business needs. Moving towards more general assets supports the capture of reusable solutions. A description used by one team may, for example, inform a shared service after its assumptions have been checked. The repository stores assets; the Continuum provides a perspective for organizing and comparing them.
- Identify sector-specific and organization-specific constraints.
- Check an asset’s suitability before reusing it.
- Maintain connections between general architectures and concrete solutions.
TERMS TO KNOW
The terms, in context.
- Enterprise Continuum
- Classification perspective for architecture and solution assets.
- Organization-Specific
- Asset tailored to the particular needs of an organization.