Architectural Goals and Constraints Flashcards

An architect is told 'the system must use the company's existing Oracle database.' How should this be treated in architecture documentation?

Answer: As a fixed technical constraint that bounds all data-related design decisions

Mandated technology choices from the organization are fixed technical constraints that must be accepted and documented as non-negotiable boundaries.

What is the consequence of ignoring the tension between modifiability and performance goals during initial architecture design?

Answer: Costly redesign when performance optimizations break the modular structure

Ignoring goal tensions early leads to expensive rework when performance-driven tight coupling conflicts with the modularity needed for future modifications.

In the context of CPSA, what is a 'quality scenario'?

Answer: A concrete, measurable description of how a quality attribute must be exhibited under specific conditions

A quality scenario specifies stimulus, source, environment, artifact, response, and response measure to make quality requirements concrete and testable.

Which factor most often causes architectural goals to conflict with each other in practice?

Answer: Different stakeholders optimizing for different success criteria

Goal conflicts typically arise because stakeholders with different roles—security teams, product owners, operations—each prioritize quality attributes aligned with their own concerns.

A startup requires rapid feature delivery, accepting more technical debt. How does this business constraint affect architectural decisions?

Answer: It favors simpler, less modular designs that speed delivery over long-term maintainability

Time-to-market pressure as a business constraint shifts the tradeoff toward simpler designs that reduce initial development time even at the cost of future modifiability.

Which practice ensures that architectural constraints remain visible and are not accidentally violated during development?

Answer: Automated architecture fitness functions and compliance checks in CI/CD pipelines

Automated fitness functions verify architectural constraints continuously, catching violations as soon as code is committed rather than during late-stage reviews.

What distinguishes a 'soft goal' from a 'hard constraint' in software architecture?

Answer: A soft goal is a desired quality that can be traded off; a hard constraint is a non-negotiable boundary

Soft goals represent desirable qualities where tradeoffs are acceptable, while hard constraints are absolute boundaries that the architecture must never violate.