Architecture values
Information architecture should be founded on basic principles. These principles can also be used to evaluate the “goodness” of a given architecture. A good discussion of the characteristics and components of architecture principles can be found in the TOGAF chapter on Architecture Principles.
I think that principles, in turn, should be founded on a set of core values. I’ve distilled some some of the core architecture values that I’ve used in the following table:
| Category | Value |
| Foundation | Efficacy - How does it solve the problem? What problems does it create or exacerbate? Economy - How costly to implement? to operate? to maintain? Scalability - How can it be scaled up or down? |
| Quality | Simplicity - How is complexity reduced or managed? Is complexity unnecessarily added? Maturity - Are the technologies at an appropriate level of maturity for the risk profile and competencies? Accessibility - How accessible and easy to learn? use? operate? manage? Flexibility - How can it accommodate variation with minimal alteration? Robustness - How can it tolerate adverse conditions? What is the longevity? |
| Balance | Context - How should the values be weighted or adapted to align with enterprise values? Elegance - Does it strike an aesthetic balance between the core values? |
Under Foundation, I included those values that are foundational or mandatory; in other words, an architecture or solution has to address these values in order to receive any consideration.
Under Quality, I included a set of values that, when present, have improved the quality of an architecture, and when missing, increase the total cost of ownership.
Where values compete, as is often the case, Balance weights or emphasizes those values that best align with enterprise values.
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