Key takeaways
- Architecture and its description are different concepts.
- Scope depends on the question being addressed.
- Systems under study may be business systems, technical systems, or a combination.
Define the system being studied
A system is a collection of interacting elements that accomplish a function or objective. Its environment includes surrounding influences, constraints, and conditions. The system under study can be an application, a business service, or an organization; the term is therefore not restricted to software.
Architecture concerns the system’s fundamental characteristics, its elements, their relationships, and the principles guiding its evolution. Defining the system of interest and its boundary helps identify what lies within scope and what should be treated as an external dependency.
Describe without confusing
An Architecture Description expresses architecture through information, models, and views. It represents reality for a selected purpose and at a chosen level of detail. A building and its plans are not the same thing; similarly, changing a diagram does not directly change the operational service. A description should be precise enough to support decisions and clear enough for its intended readers.
- Identify important elements and relationships.
- Make environmental constraints explicit.
- Validate the description with people who know the relevant facts.
TERMS TO KNOW
The terms, in context.
- System of interest
- System selected as the subject of an architecture study.
- Architecture Description
- Information used to express an architecture.