The Approach to Build a Solution Architecture Document

Generally, IT companies go about creating a detailed design of the solution as soon as they get the requirement document. It is ignored by the consultants as they fail to understand the importance of a Solution Architecture. This also creates a great level of difficulty on the client’s end. It leaves them with an unclear scope of project and this creates confusion in estimation, communication and also hurdles in the development process. In the long run, it can greatly affect the end results of the project and lead to waste of time and resources.

Here, in this blog we are going to not only highlight the importance of a Solution Architecture but also discuss the approach of building one step by step. At Helios, we make sure we follow our philosophy where we give high importance to solution architecture. As according to our philosophy, not having solution architecture for software solution can be a big loophole in the overall development process.

What is Solution Architecture?

Solution architecture is the detailed and structured description of the features, process and behavior of the solution. It acts as the base of the solution to define, deliver, manage and operate the development process of the solution. It identifies the alternatives of the solutions and its components. It is a basic architecture of the offered solution.

Now, in the contemporary times, it is the practice that Solutions Architect prepares with the help of the consultants, project managers and the developers. The solution architect defines the relationship of the process internally and to the environment by considering the principles of design and keeping the scope of evolution in mind. It is meant to support, automate and adapt to the business ideas and goals.

The Approach to Solution Architecture

Introduction

Of course, like any other document, we start with the introduction of the software solution. This document should include the purpose, glossary, background, assumptions, references and other important information. Also, including the methodologies is also important.

Make sure that you state the scope of the document clearly where it should be convincing to the client that the document incorporates all the requirements of the solution.

Goals of the Architecture

This part of the document should state the business goals and the solutions goals. The technical writer shall draft the purpose of building this architecture along with the vision that it wishes to fulfill. This content could also include the constraints that the project can expect to have. So the stakeholders are well aware and prepared for the mentioned constraints. Moreover, this could be helpful for the developers too.

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Quality of Service Requirements

Mention the standards of methodologies that the developers will be using to develop the solution. This part of the document must clearly highlight the quality attributes of the system like the performance, scalability and compatibility.

Case View

This part of the document will comprise the model that will detect the key pointers of the software solution. Basically what it will take to prepare and develop this solution. Try to use cases, diagrams of Use Case etc. to offer clarity in the documentation.

Logical View

The logical view is nothing but a chronological structure that offers the breakdown of the requirements of the system. Like the various stages, packages and steps in the process of development. This will help the developers and the stakeholder to have clarity on the system requirements.

Process View

This area of the document needs to extremely detailed. The process view consists of diagrams, models and key processes of the solution. This process highlights the various stages of the process that is being adopted to develop the solution. It will also cover the approach that the developers or the programmers take to develop the system solution.

 Deployment View

This basically is the description of the deployment process that you will be adopting for deployment of the final solution. This is generally the step before the implementation. But in many cases, this could be after the implementation stage also. This entirely depends on the kind of software. There are generally two diagrams mainly: First that consists of firewall, server, database and the network etc. And the second that consists of the nodes, dependences etc. This needs to be written with the help of the technical writer and the project managers. The deployment view offers a physical structure to the software solution and enables a layman to have better comprehension.

Implementation View

This is indeed the final part of the document which the developers happen to love. It includes the methods and options for implementation of technology and the developed solution. It should necessarily include the advantages and the disadvantages of developing this solution but in the technical context, so that transparency is maintained. And here you are done with your documentation. Do not forget to end it with the references and add them to the table of contents in the document.

Iteration is Important

At the end of this blog, all we want to conclude is that once you are done writing this documentation, you need to full proof it through the process of iteration. And ideally, you should get it right with the 2 or 3 rounds of iteration. Get it verified and validated with the software development experts, consultant and project managers in order to ensure that no part is incomplete. Also, make sure that create the scope of the requirements phase wise and verify the distribution of the phases with the consultants. We hope this makes your Software Solution Architecture Documentation easier.

Giving importance to the solution architecture is prime for your growth and quality of solutions that you offer. For this, at Helios, we have team of Solution Architects and Technical Writers specializing in various solution architecture depending upon the kind of solution required. But we do it all from web development to enterprise app development, we are the End to End Solution Provider for design agencies and IT agencies. So without much ado, go ahead and create your next Software Solution Architecture with the above mentioned steps and leave an impression on your potential clients.