Being an Information Manager...

Big Choices & Investment Proposals

So architecture can be descriptive (pretty pictures) or prescriptive (rules) and although I think that the pictures are important, the architecture will only start to work when the rules are being applied.

So if architecture is prescriptive (see previous post), then the foundation of architecture is making choices, Big Choices. Of course making the choice is not good enough - it needs to be based on a good rationale. So when the architecture prescribes to use e.g. Linux as the platform for the Oracle database, then the choice needs to be based on a number of good reasons (e.g. the support for grid computing, cost, etc). The good reasons usually can be derived from the principles - as described in an earlier post.

Once a choice is made it should also be supported by sufficient investment. You cannot make an architectural choice for say Linux, without providing the means to support that platform. With other words - architecture cannot live in isolation. It cannot describe a desired future state, without influence on the means to achieve it. So bottom line: Don't start doing architecture if you do not think you can influence the investments direction with your Big Choices!

Labels: architecture, principles

posted by Evert Ruijs @ 11:07 AM