Only the Architecture You Need

Abstract

Arguably the prime focal point of a software system's engineering is its architecture. A system's architecture is the set of principal design decisions made during its development and evolution. All too often, however, the architecture---and every system has an architecture---is left latent. Such disregard arises from many factors; some would go so far as to say that an explicit focus on architecture is unnecessary. This chapter explores different contexts in which software development occurs and, with respect to those contexts, discusses what kind of attention to architecture is needed, why it is needed, how it may be approached, and benefits that may be achieved through such attention. The objective is to highlight the degrees of architectural rigor and effort that are commensurate with the needs of diverse projects.