ISO/IEC/IEEE NP 42030

Enterprise, systems and software — Architecture evaluation framework

Scope

This document specifies the means to organize and record architecture evaluations for enterprise, systems and software fields of application.

The aim of this document is to enable architecture evaluations that are used to:
a) validate that architectures address the concerns of stakeholders;
b) assess the quality of architectures with respect to their intended purpose;
c) assess the value of architectures to their stakeholders;
d) determine whether architecture entities address their intended purpose;
e) provide architecture-related knowledge and information about entities;
f) get architecture-related knowledge and information about entities;
g) assess progress towards achieving architecture objectives;
h) clarify understanding of problem space and of stakeholder needs and expectations;
i) identify risks and opportunities associated with architectures and related entities; and
i) support decision making where architectures are involved.
The entity being evaluated can be of several kinds, as illustrated in the following examples: enterprise, organization, solution, system, subsystem, business, data (as a data element or data structure), application, information technology (as a collection), mission, product, service, software item, hardware item, etc. The kind of entity can also be a product line, family of systems, system of systems, etc. It also spans the variety of applications that utilize digital technology such as mobile, cloud, big data, robotics, Internet of Things (IoT), web, desktop, embedded systems, and so on.

The generic Architecture Evaluation (AE) framework specified in this document can be used in support of the Architecture Evaluation process defined in ISO/IEC/IEEE 42020. Specific frameworks can be derived from this generic framework, which can provide a mapping to the system life cycle processes in ISO/IEC/IEEE 15288 or to the software life cycle processes in ISO/IEC/IEEE 12207.

This generic architecture evaluation framework is intended for:
– participants in architecting and engineering efforts;
– organizations and projects adopting architecture practice in their architecting and engineering efforts;
– developers of architectures, architecture designs, solution designs, architecture descriptions, reference architectures, reference architecture descriptions and reference models;
– stakeholders using architectures as the baseline for their activities;
– providers of architecture-related standards, guidelines, training, education and evaluation instruments used for assessment of architecture practices and architecting work products;
– developers of architecture description languages, architecture modelling languages, architecture frameworks, architecture development and modelling methodologies, and architecture-related tools and technologies.

The application areas of this document include, but are not limited to, the following: artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), Internet of Things (IoT), cloud computing, big data, smart cities, smart manufacturing, cybersecurity, digital twin, telecommunications, aerospace, defense, banking, finance, insurance, energy, automotive, hospitality, healthcare, supply chain, transportation, manufacturing, agriculture, production, and infrastructure.
This document addresses generic architecture-related terms and definitions and does not address domain-specific terms and definitions. This document does not address concepts and principles related to architecture competencies.