IEEE/ISO/IEC 42010-2007

This recommended practice addresses the architectural description of software-intensive systems. A software-intensive system is any system where software contributes essential influences to the design, construction, deployment, and evolution of the system as a whole. The scope of this recommended practice encompasses those products of system development that capture architectural information. This includes architectural descriptions that are used for the following: a) Expression of the system and its evolution b) Communication among the system stakeholders c) Evaluation and comparison of architectures in a consistent manner d) Planning, managing, and executing the activities of system development e) Expression of the persistent characteristics and supporting principles of a system to guide acceptable change f) Verification of a system implementation's compliance with an architectural description g) Recording contributions to the body of knowledge of software-intensive systems architecture

The purpose of this recommended practice is to facilitate the expression and communication of architectures and thereby lay a foundation for quality and cost gains through standardization of elements and practices for architectural description. Despite significant efforts to improve engineering practices and technologies, software-intensive systems continue to present formidable risks and difficulties in their design, construction, deployment, and evolution. Recent attempts to address these difficulties have focused on the earliest period of design decision-making and evaluation, increasingly referred to as the architectural level of system development. The phrases architectural level and architecture are widely, if imprecisely, used. Their use reflects acceptance of an architectural metaphor in the analysis and development of software-intensive systems. A key premise of this metaphor is that important decisions may be made early in system development in a manner similar to the early decision-making found in the development of civil architecture projects. Many innovations are resulting from this attention to the architectural level, among them architectural description languages and associated tools and environments; architectural frameworks, models, and patterns; and techniques for architectural analysis, evaluation, and architecture-based reuse. While these efforts differ considerably in important aspects, sufficient commonality exists to warrant the development of a recommended practice to codify their common elements. These innovations are occurring, and maturing, rapidly within many research and application communities, and they reflect differing interests, influences, insights, and intentions. There is a general consensus on the importance of the architectural level of systems development, and that that level consists of early decision-making about overall design structure, goals, requirements, and development strategies. However, there has not yet emerged any reliable consensus on a precise definition of a system's architecture, i.e., how it should be described, what uses such a description may serve, or where and when it should be defined. The boundaries and relationships between architectural trends and practices, and other practices; and between architectural technology and other technology, are not yet widely recognized. In such situations, progress often depends on mediating influences. Potential adopters of architectural practices and technology need a frame of reference within which to address implementation and adoption decisions. Technology developers need a frame of reference within which to communicate the motivating concepts of their technology, and to accumulate and appreciate feedback from early adoption. To these ends, this recommended practice is intended to reflect generally accepted trends in practices for architectural description and to provide a technical framework for further evolution in this area. Furthermore, it establishes a conceptual framework of concepts and terms of reference within which future developments in system architectural technology can be deployed. This recommended practice codifies those elements on which there is consensus; specifically the use of multiple views, reusable specifications for models within views, and the relation of architecture to system context.

New IEEE Standard - Superseded. This recommended practice addresses the activities of the creation, analysis, and sustainment of architectures of software-intensive systems, and the recording of such architectures in terms of architectural descriptions. A conceptual framework for architectural description is established. The content of an architectural description is defined. Annexes provide the rationale for key concepts and terminology, the relationships to other standards, and examples of usage.