Architecture Integrity Assurance

Definition

Architecture Integrity Assurance

the architecting task during which the architecture team ensures that its design and implementation do not violate the integrity of its architectures

Classification

As illustrated in the preceding figure, architecture integrity assurance is part of the following inheritance hierarchy:

• Type: Concrete
• Superclass: Task
• Subclasses: None

Responsibilities

The typical responsibilities of the architecture integrity assurance task are typically to:

• Ensure that the application’s design is consistent with its architectures.
• Ensure that the application’s implementation is consistent with its architectures.

Preconditions

Architecture integrity assurance can typically begin when the following preconditions hold:

• The business strategy team, technology strategy team, or architecture team have been adequately:
  • Staffed.
  • Trained in architecture integrity assurance.
• The design activityhas begun.

Completion Criteria

Architecture integrity assurance is typically complete when the following postconditions hold:

• The business enterprise has been [re]engineered.
• The application has been retired.

Steps

Architecture integrity assurance typically involves the following teams performing the following steps in an incremental, iterative, parallel, and time-boxed manner:

• Business Strategy Team, Technology Strategy Team, and/or Architecture Team:
  • Evaluate the design for conformance with the architectures.
  • Evaluate the implementation for conformance with the architectures.
  • Notify the designers and implementors of any inconsistencies.

Techniques

Architecture integrity assurance typically can be performed using the following techniques:

• Inspections
• Reading documentation
• Integration testing

Work Products

Architecture integrity assurance typically results in the production of all or part of the following work products:

• Change Request Form

Guidelines

• This task is useful for both business [re]engineering and application development endeavors.