Microsoft .NET: Architecting Applications for the Enterprise ... - BattleIT

Chapter 1 Architects and Architecture Today 19
Finally, the architect also strategizes about tasking individual developers, or teams of developers,
with each of the components resulting from the breakdown of the system.
Note There are no absolute truths in software architecture. And no mathematical rules
(or building codes like in structural engineering) to help in making choices. Company X might
fi nd architecture A successful at the same time company Y is moving away from it to embrace
architecture B. The nice fact is that both might be totally right. The context is king, and so is gut
feeling.
Identifying and Evaluating Technologies
After acknowledging requirements and designing the layers of the system, the next step for
the architect entails mapping logical components onto concrete technologies and products.
The architect typically knows the costs and benefi ts of products and technologies that might
be related to the content of the project. The architect proposes the use of any technologies
and products that he regards as benefi cial and cost-effective for the project.
The architect doesn’t choose the technology; based on his skills, the architect just makes
proposals.
The architect might suggest using, say, Microsoft Windows 2008 Server for the Web
server and a service-oriented architecture with services implemented through Windows
Communication Foundation (WCF). The architect might suggest NHibernate over Entity
Framework and Microsoft SQL Server 2008 over Oracle. And he might suggest a particular
rich control suite for the Web presentation layer instead of, perhaps, an entirely in-house
developed Silverlight client.
Who does make the fi nal decision about which technologies and products are to be used?
Typically, it is the project manager or whoever manages the budget. The architect’s
suggestions might be accepted or rejected. If a suggestion is rejected, using or not using a
given product or technology just becomes a new nonfunctional requirement to fulfi ll, and
that might infl uence, even signifi cantly, the architecture.
Formulating Specifi cations
The architect is ultimately responsible for the development of the system and coordinates the
work of a team of developers. Technical specifi cations are the means by which the architect
communicates architectural decisions to the developers.
Specifi cations can be rendered in various forms: UML sketches, Word documents, Microsoft
Visio diagrams or, even, working prototypes.