4.5 Conclusions

The architecture-centered development detailed in this chapter is based upon widely utilized architectural standards and best-practice patterns. This approach generates an ODP architecture as well as other formal and informal artifacts, including (1) the Vision Statement, (2) the use-case-based requirements, (3) the rationale, and (4) the conformance statements.

Architecture-centered development is pragmatic. Modeling focus is given to those decisions that are architecturally important. Not every artifact is required. Document formality is selective.

The authors have seen so many projects where the software has been done incorrectly that it's no wonder five out of six projects are unsuccessful. The age of the heroic programmer is coming to an end, and the age of the professional software architect has begun. Driven by escalating user expectations, business changes, and technology innovations, many organizations now realize that proper system planning generally translates into system success, and improper planning leads to system failure.

Finally, the role of the software architect is relatively new in many project cultures. What has been called architecture, informally, needs to conform to standards and best-practice patterns if consistent development success is desired.