Software Architecture: An Executive Overview.

Abstract

Software architecture is an area of growing importance to practitioners and researchers in government, industry, and academia. Journals and international workshops are devoted to it. Working groups are formed to study it. Textbooks are emerging about it. The government is investing in the development of software architectures as core products in their own right. Industry is marketing architectural frameworks such as CORBA. Why all the interest and investment? What is software architecture, and why is it perceived as providing a solution to the inherent difficulty in designing and developing large, complex systems? This report will attempt to summarize the concept of software architecture for an intended audience of mid to senior level management. The reader is presumed to have some familiarity with common software engineering terms and concepts, but not to have a deep background in the field. This report is not intended to be overly-scholarly, nor is it intended to provide the technical depth necessary for practitioners and technologists. The intent is to distill some of the technical detail and provide a high level overview.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Feb 01, 1996
Accession Number
ADA305470

Entities

People

  • Linda M. Northrop
  • Paul C. Clements

Organizations

  • Carnegie Mellon University

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • C4I
  • Human Systems
  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Complex Systems
  • Computer Programming
  • Computer Programs
  • Computers
  • Control Systems
  • Department Of Defense
  • Engineering
  • Governments
  • Graphical User Interface
  • Information Systems
  • Life Cycles
  • Mass Production
  • New York
  • Organizational Structure
  • Software Design
  • Software Development
  • Structural Components

Fields of Study

  • Computer science

Readers

  • Database Systems and Applications
  • Systems Analysis and Design
  • Team-Based Human-Centered Cognitive Task Decision Making and Information Performance.