Architecture descriptions and architecture models

What this unit settles

A description is the work product that expresses the architecture; a model is a representation of the entity. A description can contain models, and a model can exist without a description. The distinction matters because a firm can have a rich model repository and no description that a stakeholder can read.

What to do in your practice

Register descriptions and models separately, then record which models appear in which descriptions. Set a purpose, a reader and an owner for each description, and a condition of interest for each model. Retire models that no description uses and descriptions that no audience reads. Set a rule that a model enters the repository only with a named description and a named reader. The rule is unpopular for a quarter and then saves the practice from a repository nobody can navigate. Retire models on the same day their last description is retired, not at the next tool upgrade.

Who it binds

The organisation and the architecture practice. This unit is not a shall requirement; the claim level states what it is.

Evidence an auditor or regulator asks for

Common gaps this page catches

What to prepare before publication

Build both registers and the map. Retire the orphan models. For each description, name the reader and ask whether they use it.