Software architecture: Introducing IEEE Standard 1471 - Computer

A lthough architecture has become a popular term in the computing community, its use is inconsistent, often bearing little resemblance to the concept’s origins in civil engineering. Architecture is used in various contexts to mean the instruction set of a central processor unit, the highest-level software modules in a large software system, or the overall structure of a business’s information technology systems. In some contexts, the architecture is both the process and the outcome of specifying the overall structure, components, and interrelationships of a computer or a network. Other organizations speak of buying or acquiring an architecture. Architecture also describes a product line’s shared attributes or features. Despite these inconsistencies, there is a growing body of recognized practice in architecture as applied to computer systems. In 2000, the Computer Society approved IEEE Standard 1471, which documents a consensus on good architectural description practices. The decision process that led to IEEE 1471’s approval demonstrates how standards can address conceptual issues and emphasizes the difficulties associated with resolving these kinds of issues in the standards development process. Five core concepts and relationships provide the foundation for the approved IEEE 1471 version: