Steps to create enterprise/system Architecture.

In those lines I’ll try to explain the steps that I’m going through while creating architecture for enterprise or system. First of all, to be clear, let’s define architecture. As I see it, architecture is a set of ideas back up by set of rules that should be followed by system’s designers and developers to ensure that the building system/s will solve enterprise/system needs by adhering enterprise rules and constraints. That set of rules should be published as diagrams and documents, describing chosen architecture and what designers and developers should do in order to fulfill the laying architecture. If it possible it’s better to create, as the first byproduct of architecture process, a infrastructure that will be used by system/s. this infrastructure supply both better enforcement of architecture and shorten system development process.

I don’t see any different between enterprise and system architecture regarding the steps needed to defined them. The steps are the same just the scope different. While enterprise architecture should set architecture to solve entire enterprise goals and needs, system architecture should do the same but just for one system in the enterprise. Yes, enterprise architecture should take in account how to integrate all systems in the enterprise but system architecture should do the same to all system components. Actually there is just one difference between enterprise and system architecture. System architecture should follow enterprise architecture. In the rest of those lines I’ll address just architecture as it for enterprise or system use.

As I see it, there are 7 steps that should be followed to create better architecture. Every one of those steps depends on previous steps. Flaw detected in every step could end up with changes that should be made to previous steps. I’ll try to go through those 7 steps and to describe shortly what the aim of each step is.

full article :

http://weblogs.asp.net/ngur/articles/194704.aspx.