ISO 42024 Revision Checker
ISO/IEC/IEEE DIS 42024 · Enterprise, systems and software, Architecture fundamentals Stage 40.99 Planning date 15 Sep 2027, an estimate 35 terms · 20 clause areas · 9 annex sections

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Entity related concepts · 3.3.2

Solution entity

The entity of interest plus the other entities that keep it running across one or more contexts over its life, as the realisation of the architectural entities of interest. Keeping it running covers affordability, continued viability, adaptability, evolvability, operational assurance and logistics support.

  • definition
  • Term
  • ISO/IEC/IEEE DIS 42024
  • Last updated: 2026-10-21

What this term settles

The solution entity is wider than the entity of interest. It includes what is needed to keep the entity alive: support, logistics, funding, operations. That wider view is what auditors and finance teams actually care about, because an architecture that cannot be sustained is not a solution.

What to do in your practice

For each entity of interest, list the sustainment entities and the context they serve. Mark which are in the firm control and which depend on a supplier or a shared service. The dependencies are the risks that a design review usually misses.

Who it binds

The role that owns the practice area the term governs. A definition binds nobody on its own; it binds the reader who adopts the term in a method, a description or a contract.

Evidence an auditor or regulator asks for

  • A sustainment map from the entity of interest to the entities that keep it viable.
    Shows the architecture was designed for operation, not only for delivery.
  • A dependency list with supplier and contract references.
    An auditor asks what the entity relies on outside the firm control.
  • A cost of sustainment estimate per life cycle stage.
    Connects the architecture to affordability, one of the named properties.
  • A record of the contexts the solution must work in.
    Prevents a solution that works in one context being assumed to work in all.
Ask your teamWhat does this entity need in order to still be viable in five years, and which of those needs is outside our control?

Common gaps this page catches

  • The design stops at go live and sustainment is planned by a different team.
  • Supplier dependencies are known to operations but absent from the architecture record.
  • No one has stated the contexts the solution must work in.

What to prepare before publication

Add a sustainment section to the description template: affordability, viability, evolvability, adaptability, operational assurance and logistics support. Fill it once for a live entity and the missing rows will show where the practice is thin.

Common questions

What does Solution entity mean in ISO 42024?
The entity of interest plus the other entities that keep it running across one or more contexts over its life, as the realisation of the architectural entities of interest. Keeping it running covers affordability, continued viability, adaptability, evolvability, operational assurance and logistics support.
What evidence should we keep for 3.3.2?
A sustainment map from the entity of interest to the entities that keep it viable. A dependency list with supplier and contract references. A cost of sustainment estimate per life cycle stage.

Related units

Source. ISO/IEC/IEEE DIS 42024, Clause 3.3.2, Terms and definitions. Open the official record. Retrieved 21 October 2026.

https://www.iso.org/obp/ui/en/#iso:std:iso-iec-ieee:42024:dis:ed-1:v1:en

ISO catalogue record 87510, the status, stage and page count.

Claim level: definition. The definition is in the public preview. This page states it in our own words and does not reproduce the text.

Last updated: 2026-10-21 · Markdown version · Check your practice