If engineering is the art and science of technical problem solving, systems architecting happens when you don’t yet know what the problem is. The third edition of a highly respected bestseller, The Art of Systems Architecting provides in-depth coverage of the least understood part of systems design: moving from a vague concept and limited resources to a satisfactory and feasible system concept and an executable program. The book provides a practical, heuristic approach to the "art" of systems architecting. It provides methods for embracing, and then taming, the growing complexity of modern systems.
New in the Third Edition:
- Five major case studies illustrating successful and unsuccessful practices
- Information on architecture frameworks as standards for architecture descriptions
- New methods for integrating business strategy and architecture and the role of architecture as the technical embodiment of strategy
- Integration of process guidance for organizing and managing architecture projects
- Updates to the rapidly changing fields of software and systems-of-systems architecture
- Organization of heuristics around a simple and practical process model
A Practical Heuristic Approach to the Art of Systems Architecting
Extensively rewritten to reflect the latest developments, the text explains how to create a system from scratch, presenting invention/design rules together with clear explanations of how to use them. The author supplies practical guidelines for avoiding common systematic failures while implementing new mandates. He uses a heuristics-based approach that provides an organized attack on very ill-structured engineering problems. Examining architecture as more than a set of diagrams and documents, but as a set of decisions that either drive a system to success or doom it to failure, the book provide methods for integrating business strategy with technical architectural decision making.
Part I: Introduction
A Brief Review of Classical Architecting Methods
Chapter 1 Extending the Architecting Paradigm
Introduction: The Classical Architecting Paradigm
Responding to Complexity
The High Rate of Advances in the Computer and Information Sciences
The Foundations of Modern Systems Architecting
The Architecture Paradigm Summarized
The Waterfall Model of Systems Acquisition
Spirals, Increments, and Collaborative Assembly
Scopes of Architecting
Chapter 2 Heuristics as Tools
Introduction: A Metaphor
Heuristics as Abstractions of Experience
Selecting a Personal Kit of Heuristic Tools
Using Heuristics
A Process Framework for Architecting Heuristics
Heuristics on Heuristics
A Taxonomy of Heuristics
New Directions
Part II: New Domains, New Insights
Case Study 1: DC-3
The History
Architecture Interpretation
Three Story Variations
Was the Boeing 247 Successfully Architected?
What Is the "Architecture" of the DC-3?
Art Raymond’s Principles
Chapter 3 Builder-Architected Systems
Introduction: The Form-First Paradigm
Technological Substitutions within Existing Systems
Consequences of Uncertainty of End Purpose
Architecture and Competition
Reducing the Risks of Uncertainty of End Purpose
Risk Management by Intermediate Goals
The "What Next?" Quandary
Controlling the Critical Features of the Architecture
Abandonment of an Obsolete Architecture
Creating Innovative Teams
Architecting "Revolutionary" Systems
Systems Architecting and Basic Research
Heuristics for Architecting Technology-Driven Systems
Case Study 2: Mass and Lean Production
Introduction
An Architectural History of Mass Production
Cottage Industry (1890s to 1910s)
Birth of Mass Production (1908–1913)
Competition from New Quarters (1920s to 1930s)
The Toyota Production System (1940s to 1980s)
Metaphor or Vision Changes
Craftsmen
A Car for the Masses, or If We Build It, It Will Sell
Cars as Fashion
The Supermarket Metaphor
The Toyota Way
Elements of the Architecture of the Ford Production System
The Assembly Line
Enterprise Distribution
Management Processes
Quality Assurance for Distributed Production
Devotion to Component-Level Simplification
Social Contract
Chapter 4 Manufacturing Systems
Introduction: The Manufacturing Domain
Manufacturing in Context
Architectural Innovations in Manufacturing
Dynamic Manufacturing Systems
Lean Production
Flexible Manufacturing
Heuristics for Architecting Manufacturing Systems
Case Study 3: Intelligent Transportation Systems
Introduction
ITS Concepts
ITS Sociotechnical Issues
Who Is the Client for an Architect?
Public or Private?
Facts and Perceptions
Architecture as Shared Invariants
Dominance of Economics
Chapter 5 Social Systems
Introduction: Defining Sociotechnical Systems
Public Participation
The Foundations of Sociotechnical Systems Architecting
The Separation of Client and User
Socioeconomic Insights
The Interaction between the Public and Private Sectors
Facts versus Perceptions: An Added Tension
Heuristics for Social Systems
Case Study 4: Hierarchical to Layered Systems
Business Background
Motivation for Change
The Layered Alternative
The Pain of the Transition
Results
Chapter 6 Software and Information Technology Systems
Introduction: The Status of Software Architecting
Software as a System Component
Systems, Software, and Process Models
The Problem of Hierarchy
The Role of Architecture in Software-Centered Systems
Programming Languages, Models, and Expression
Architectures, "Unifying" Models, and Visions
Directions in Software Architecting
Exercises
Case Study 5: The Global Positioning System
The History
The Origins of GPS: The Foundational Programs
Inertial Navigation and Its Limits
Weapon Delivery
The Transit Program
TIMATION
621B
The Origin of GPS
Parkinson and Currie
The Fateful Weekend
The Long Road to Revolution
The Timeline to Operation
Commercial Markets and the Gulf War
Revolution in the Second Generation
Ubiquitous GPS
GPS-Guided Weapons
Architecture Interpretation
Right Idea, Right Time, Right People
Be Technically Aggressive, But Not Suicidal
Consensus without Compromise
Architecture as Invariants
Revolution through Coupled Change
Chapter 7 Collaborative Systems
Introduction: Collaboration as a Category
Collaborative System Examples
Analogies for Architecting Collaborative Systems
Collaborative System Heuristics
Variations on the Collaborative Theme
Misclassification
Standards and Collaborative Systems
Part III: Models and Modeling
Introduction to Part III
A Civil Architecture Analogy
Guide to Part III
Chapter 8 Representation Models and Systems Architecting
Introduction: Roles, Views, and Models
Roles of Models
Models, Viewpoints, and Views
Classification of Models by View
Conclusion
Exercises
Notes and References
Chapter 9 Design Progression in Systems Architecting
Introduction: Architecting Process Components
Design Progression
Introduction by Examples
Design as the Evolution of Models
Evaluation Criteria and Heuristic Refinement
Design Concepts for Systems Architecture
Architecture and Design Disciplines
Chapter 10 Integrated Modeling Methodologies
Introduction
General Integrated Models
Integrated Modeling and Software
Integrated Models for Manufacturing Systems
Integrated Models for Sociotechnical Systems
Chapter 11 Architecture Frameworks
Introduction
Defining an Architecture Framework
Current Architecture Frameworks
Research Directions
Adapting Processes to Frameworks
Conclusion
Notes and References
Part IV: The Systems Architecting Profession
Chapter 12 Architecting in Business and Government
Problem-System-Program-Organization
Strategy and Architecture in Business and Government
Architecture of Programs
Strategic Architecting of Programs
Enterprise Architecture
Chapter 13 The Political Process and Systems Architecting
Introduction: The Political Challenge
Politics as a Design Factor
The First Skill to Master
Heuristics in the Political Process: "The Facts of Life"
A Few More Skills to Master
Chapter 14 The Professionalization of Systems Architecting
Introduction
The Profession of Systems Engineering
Systems Architecting and Systems Standards
The Origins of Systems Standards
Commercial Standards
Company Standards
A Summary of Standards Developments, 1950–1995
Systems Architecting Graduate Education
Curriculum Design
Advanced Study in Systems Architecting
Professional Societies and Publications
Conclusion: An Assessment of the Profession
Notes and References
Appendix A: Heuristics for Systems-Level Architecting
Introduction: Organizing the List
Heuristic Tool List
Exercises
Notes and References
Appendix B: Reference Texts Suggested for Institutional Libraries
Architecting Background
Management
Modeling
Specialty Areas
Software
Systems Sciences
Systems Thinking
Appendix C: On Defining Architecture and Other Terms
Defining "Architecture"
Models, Viewpoints, and Views
Reference
Glossary
Author Index
Subject Index
Biography
Mark W. Maier
