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You Can’t Evaluate Architecture in a Vacuum

Sep 25, 2008 by JD

As we work through the patterns & practices App Arch Guide 2.0 project, I find myself repeating an important mantra …

“You can’t evaluate an architecture in a vacuum …”

You need scenarios to evaluate it against scenarios.

Scenario-Based Evaluation Methods
Here’s a list of some scenario-based evaluation methods:

  • Software Architecture Analysis Method (SAAM) – evaluate quality attributes against actual usage.
  • Architecture Trade_off Analysis Method (ATAM ) – evaluate how well the architecture satisfies particular goals, especially around trade-offs between qualities.

These are mostly variations of SAAM and ATAM.

  • Cost-Benefit Analysis Method (CBAM) – evaluates the architecture cost and benefit against the economics of the organization.
  • Architecture Level Modifiability Analysis (ALMA) – evaluates the modifiability of an architecture for Business Information Systems (BIS).
  • Family-Architecture Assesment Method (FAAM) – evaluates information-system family architectures for interoperability and extensibility.

Additional Resources

  • Scenario-Based Software Architecture Evaluation Methods: An Overview (PDF)
Category: ArchitectureTag: Architecture, Design

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