Task: Demonstrate the Architecture

Present at least one solution that proves the planned architecture will meet the requirements.

Purpose

Reduce the risk of reworking the software architecture by illustrating at least one architecture that supports the requirements of the system.

Relationships

Roles	Primary Performer: Architect	Additional Performers: Analyst Developer Project Manager Stakeholder Tester
Inputs	Mandatory: Architecture Supporting Requirements Vision	Optional: Use Case Use Case Model
Outputs	Architectural Proof-of-Concept

Main Description

Projects teams are at risk of spending time developing an architecture that will not support the requirements of the system. This task mitigates the risk of having to rework the architecture by describing at least one potential architecture through the Architectural Proof-of-Concept. The objective is to describe just enough of the architecture before building it to be confident that the approach will succeed.

Demonstrating that an architectural approach will succeed can be very informal or very formal. If a team is building software similar to systems that they have developed in the past or on top of well-understood frameworks (such as Java™ 2 Platform, Enterprise Edition, or J2EE™), it may take very little explanation to be confident of the architectural approach. If the team is new or is building software based on new technology, significant research, description, and prototype may be required before achieving enough confidence to proceed with a specific architecture.

Steps

Define objectives

Work with the team to balance priorities and agree to the scope and objectives of the proof of concept. In order to show value, these should support the objectives for the system requirements and trace back to one or more of the following

the Vision
the Supporting Requirements
one or more high level Use Cases (if available)

You will need to satisfy the various priorities of different roles to show that the proposed architectural approach

meets the business requirements (Analyst and Stakeholder)
is feasible with the available time and resources (Project Manager)
is technically feasible (Developer)
is testable (Tester).

Decide on construction approach

Work with the Developer(s) and Tester(s) to select a format for the proof-of-concept that addresses the objectives and can demonstrate success. Techniques such as conceptual modeling, prototyping, creating executable code, etc, can be used to build the proof-of-concept.

Construct the proof-of-concept

Construct the architectural proof of concept using the construction approach that you have chosen. This may involve one or more Developers.

Verify the proof-of-concept

Show how the proof of concept satisfies the objectives. You need to make sure that the entire team, particularly the stakeholders, devlopers, and testers, are satisfied that their various priorities are addressed.

Communicate the proof-of-concept

Communicate the proof-of-concept to demonstrate to the team that the architecture will meet its objectives. This should include the project Stakeholder(s) as well as other technical team members who will implement the architecture.

More Information

Guidelines	Architectural Proof of Concept Demonstrate the Architecture

This program and the accompanying materials are made available under the
Eclipse Public License v1.0 which accompanies this distribution.