Software architecture

Have you ever wondered the main differences between architectural and technical decisions in the software development process? Do you know what aspects influence the making of these decisions? If you are a software architect or want to become one, this article is for you!

Architectural Decision

An architectural decision can be compared to choosing furniture for your apartment. Imagine you are a novice interior designer with an empty room you want to furnish. You have to make many decisions about furniture, such as choosing a sofa, table, bookcase, and chairs.

An architectural decision shapes the entire project, just like choosing furniture shapes the interior. You must consider functionality, aesthetics, and space to find the right solutions. For example, do you want your apartment to be modern or more traditional? What colors and materials will fit your style? What elements do you want to include to create a comfortable and cozy space?

Like an architectural decision, you must consider many factors such as your taste, preferences, and spatial limitations. Your choice of furniture will affect the final look and functionality of the room, just as an architectural decision will affect the entire building project.

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Technical Decision

A technical decision can be compared to choosing the right kitchen tools to prepare a dish. Imagine you want to bake a delicious chocolate cake. Now you have to make technical decisions about the kitchen tools you will use.

A technical decision involves choosing the right tools that will allow you to make the cake efficiently and effectively. You must decide whether to use a mixer to beat the cake or a hand whisk. It may also be necessary to choose the right baking dishes or molds. You must also decide whether to use the traditional baking method in the oven or a modern baking device.

Like in an architectural decision, you have to consider various factors, such as the type of cake, desired end result, and availability of tools. Choosing the right kitchen tools can significantly impact the taste, consistency, and appearance of the prepared dish.

In this way, a technical decision concerns the choice of appropriate tools, techniques, and methods that will allow you to achieve the intended result in a specific task or field, similar to the choice of appropriate furniture that shapes the interior in an architectural decision.

By making an architectural decision, you have decided to prepare dishes in the kitchen, and equip it with sockets and appropriate furniture. How you will do it (i.e., which tools to prepare the dishes) depends on the technical decision.

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Characteristics of architectural and technical decisions

Architectural decision

• Shapes the entire project

• Concerns about the choice of pattern and approach to building the system

• It affects the quality attributes of the system, such as performance, scalability, and security

• Requires consideration of many factors, such as functionality, aesthetics, space, and user preferences

• Made at the beginning of the project or during its development phase

• Requires cooperation with the development team and project management

Technical decision

• Concerns about the choice of specific technologies, tools, and methods for building the system

• It affects a specific element or functionality of the system

• Requires consideration of many factors, such as tool availability, desired end result, and time constraints

• Made during the implementation phase of the project or during its development phase

• Requires cooperation with the development team and architect

In the case of architectural decisions, the architect must consider the entire project and its quality attributes. In contrast, technical decisions need to consider the specific goal and element of the system. Both decisions are equally important for project success and require cooperation and coordination within the project team.

Differences between architectural and technical decisions in terms of their impact on software architecture

Architectural and technical decisions differ in terms of their impact on software architecture. Architectural decisions are related to strategic project issues and impact the entire software architecture. Technical decisions are more specific and relate to particular implementation aspects, and their impact is more limited.

Architectural decisions impact the system structure, its quality attributes, component interactions, and similar aspects. They also impact the ways of implementation and the technologies and tools that will be used in the project. Architectural decisions are made at the beginning of the project but can be modified during its duration.

Technical decisions impact the way specific system functionalities are implemented, but their impact on the entire architecture is usually limited. They concern the choice of specific technologies, tools, and methods for building the system. Technical decisions are made during the project implementation or development phase.

In summary, architectural decisions have a more strategic character and affect the entire software architecture, while technical decisions are more specific and impact specific implementation aspects. Both types of decisions are equally important and require attention and cooperation from the project team.

Main factors influencing architectural decisions

1. Business requirements - architectural decisions should stem from the project’s business requirements. The architect must understand the project goals and the domain in which it operates.

2. Quality attributes - architectural decisions should consider the system’s quality attributes, such as performance, scalability, security, and reliability.

3. Technologies - architectural decisions must consider available technologies and tools, as well as their impact on the project.

4. Design patterns - architectural decisions should be based on proven design patterns to help achieve project goals.

5. Future expansion and maintenance - architectural decisions should consider the future requirements of the project and ensure that the system is easy to expand and maintain.

6. Budget and schedule - architectural decisions should consider the project budget and schedule to ensure its success.

7. Collaboration with the team - architectural decisions require collaboration with the development team and project management to ensure their acceptance and implementation.

Main factors influencing technical decisions

When making technical decisions, you must consider many factors such as:

• Project goal - technical decisions should stem from the project goals. You need to understand what objectives you need to achieve in order to choose the right tools and methods.

• Available technologies - you need to be aware of available technologies and tools to choose those that best meet the project requirements.

• Time constraints - you need to consider the project schedule and resource availability to choose tools and methods that can be implemented on time.

• Functional requirements - you need to understand what functions must be performed to choose tools and methods best suited for their implementation.

• Quality attributes - you need to understand what is important for the project, such as performance, scalability, reliability, and security, to choose tools and methods that best meet them.

• Compliance with existing infrastructure - you need to understand what tools and technologies are already being used in the project to choose those that best fit the existing infrastructure.

• Collaboration with the team - you need to work with the development team to choose tools and methods that are most convenient and best suited to their skills.

• Costs - you need to consider the costs associated with tools and methods to choose those that are most cost-effective for the project.

• Scalability - you need to consider the possibility of expanding the system in the future to choose tools and methods that enable easy extension of functionality.

Interdependencies and relationships between architectural and technical decisions are crucial for the success of software projects. Architectural decisions shape the entire project, including its structure, quality attributes, and interactions between components.

Technical decisions are more detailed and concern specific aspects of implementation. The impact of technical decisions is more limited, but it is necessary for them to be consistent with architectural decisions and contribute to achieving project goals.

For example, an architectural decision regarding the design pattern will influence the technical decision regarding the choice of specific tools and technologies that will enable the application of that pattern in the project. In this way, the architectural decision affects the technical decision and enables the achievement of desired quality attributes of the system.

On the other hand, a technical decision, such as the choice of specific technologies to implement functionality, may influence the architectural decision regarding the system’s structure. For instance, the choice of a specific technology to handle the database may influence the architectural decision regarding the structure of application layers.

In this way, architectural and technical decisions are interrelated and affect each other. Therefore, it is important for decisions to be made consciously and collaboratively between the architectural and development teams.

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Summary

The architectural decision concerns the choice of pattern and approach to building a system, while the technical decision concerns specific tools, technologies, and implementation methods. Architectural decisions shape the entirety of the project, including its structure and quality attributes, while technical decisions impact specific aspects of implementation.

Architectural decisions are made at the beginning or during the project development, requiring cooperation with the development team and the architect. They should consider business requirements, quality attributes, available technologies, design patterns, future expansion and maintenance, budget and schedule, and teamwork.

Technical decisions should consider the project’s goals, available technologies, time constraints, functional requirements, quality attributes, compatibility with existing infrastructure, teamwork, costs, and expandability.

The interrelationships and dependencies between architectural and technical decisions are crucial to the success of software projects. Architectural decisions shape the entirety of the project, while technical decisions impact specific aspects of implementation. Both decisions are equally important for project success and require attention and cooperation within the project team.

I encourage conscious decision-making in architectural and technical decisions to achieve better results in software projects. The interrelationships between these decisions are crucial to the project’s success and require teamwork and coordination. Be aware and make choices that will provide optimal results for your project.