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Reviewer: Nancy R. Mead

Best practices in software architecture are examined and abstracted into a framework for software architecture activities in this excellent book. The authors then use a series of examples to illustrate the framework and architectural activities. The book is practitioner oriented and provides a step-by-step process for software architecture. Software architects and other software practitioners and managers will find the book very valuable. The book includes four parts and 12 chapters. They are: Part 1—Software Architecture 1. Introduction Part 2—Designing, Describing, and Using Software Architecture 2. IS2000: The Advanced Imaging Solution 3. Global Analysis 4. Conceptual Architecture View 5. Module Architecture View 6. Execution Architecture View 7. Code Architecture View Part 3—Software Architecture Best Practice 8. Safety Vision 9. Healthy Vision 10. Central Vision 11. Comm Vision Part 4—Software Architecture in Your Future 12. The Role of the Software Architect The book also includes a glossary, a quick reference for the four views, and a bibliography. Each chapter includes a summary and references to further readings. There are no exercises. Practicing software architects are the primary audience for the book, but it would also be useful to software project managers and advanced students in software engineering. UML is used as the notation for describing architectures, but in some cases there is a mapping of UML language features to those needed by the authors. Based on field experiences and observations, the authors have developed a model for describing the major software architecture activities and views. They see software architecture as consisting of four views: conceptual view, module view, execution view, and code view, each of which is characterized in the book. An example, IS2000, is used to illustrate the activities involved in global analysis as well as in developing the four views. IS2000 is a composite system that is similar to systems seen by the authors in their fieldwork. This is the subject of Part 2, which is the fundamental material of the book. Part 3 includes four real-world examples that show how the architecture development process plays out in different kinds of systems, providing a good reference for software architects. The book is highly readable, and provides a practical how-to view of software architecture. Many practitioners will say, “Aha, so thats what I was doing,” on seeing good architectural practices abstracted into a model and given a name. Many of the activities described are familiar, but the framework and a way to make architectural activities repeatable are major contributions of the book. Also, the framework will help ensure completeness of architecture activities and considerations. The global analysis activities, which help to drive the development of the four views, will also be familiar. Organizational factors, technological factors, and product factors are considered. For each set of factors, there is a three-step process that includes identification and description of the factor, determination of the flexibility and changeability of the factors, and analysis of the impact of the factors. The factors described include some risk analysis as well as planning and estimation elements, in addition to technical elements. It seems that the architects role is somewhat blurred with that of the software project manager in this discussion. That is, the risk factors being considered would presumably require management attention and decision making. Nevertheless, these are important activities that must be considered at the start of a project and revisited throughout. I recommend this book to software architects, software practitioners, and managers who are involved in software architecture, and to advanced students of software engineering who are aspiring software architects. It is interesting reading and will be a useful reference for me.