Architecture Review Services

Most often systems are released with performance issues, security risks and availability problems all as a result of inappropriate architecture. Although architecture is defined early in the project life cycle, the resulting flaws are discovered much later. Architectural flaws are exposed when the project is affected most negatively by change, and when downstream artefacts are too expensive to overhaul.

e-Zest offers independent/third-party architecture and design review services that focus on customer specific review objectives. The objectives for a review are based upon customer concerns and focus on specific aspects of the architecture.

Objectives may vary from one project to another, basis each system’s specific requirement, however there are a few general categories under which most tend to fall. Typically, customers who want to ensure quality and suitability of the architecture identify the areas of improvement, open a dialogue between decision makers to address areas of risk and negotiate any necessary trade-offs.

Typical lifecycle for architecture review project can be described as follows:

• Architecture review process starts with the identification of the scope of work for architecture review. The scope describes the boundaries of a specific review instance. For instance, either the architecture of the entire system can be evaluated or only part of the system. A review can evaluate the architecture against all the system’s quality requirements, or only the most critical ones. With the help of the client, e-Zest can help discover the appropriate scope by prioritizing the goals of the evaluation.
• Based on the defined objectives and scope, we create a list of the specific criteria against which the architecture is measured. The list might include system-wide properties, significant functional requirements to be delivered and general attributes of quality. The goal is to review and assess how each item on the list is affected by the architectural decisions that need to be made.
• Typically reliability, security, availability, extensibility, manageability and portability are all quality attributes that can be considered in architecture evaluation and review.
• e-Zest recommends conducting architecture evaluation and review at an early stage in the project life cycle. For projects using an iterative development approach, evaluation can take place within each iteration. Evaluations also can be conducted on legacy systems, to assess their ability to support future business objectives.
• The primary activity of the evaluation-and-review process is the assessment of the architecture. e-Zest uses techniques that involve the use of scenarios, which allow the quality attributes of the architecture to be evaluated in specific contexts. Walking through the steps of a scenario provides the opportunity to describe how architecture will respond to specific demands that are placed upon it. If we want to assess how easily a system that is built upon the candidate architecture could be modified, we could create a scenario that describes a set of specific changes to implement in the system. Our team can then analyze the architecture, look for modifiability tactics such as semantic coherence and generalized modules.
• Deliverables from architecture review process is a comprehensive report that describes the evaluation-and-review findings. This document serves as a concise summary of the assessment that can be communicated to the customer project team as well as other relevant stakeholders. The report includes scope of the review, evaluation-and-review objectives, architecturally significant requirements list, findings and recommendations, along with an action plan.

An evaluation of the architecture while it is still in the candidate specification stage can reduce project risk greatly. The quality attributes of a system – such as performance, availability, extensibility, and security – are a direct result of its architecture; therefore, quality cannot be introduced to your system late in the game.

The most significant benefit of e-Zest’s independent architecture review services is our unbiased evaluation of architecture/architecture components by experts that reassure customer stakeholders that the candidate architecture is capable of supporting the current and future business objectives; specifically, that it can meet its functional and non-functional requirements.

To know more about how our architecture and design review services can help you focus on ensuring quality and identifying scope for improvement, get in touch at info@e-zest.com.