Architecture, Design and Implementation

Summary of Architecture, Design and Implementation by Amnon H. Eden and Rick Kazman

In this article, the authors try to describe qualitative differences between three key steps of software development--architecture, design and implementation. To accomplish this goal, they introduce two key terminologies (Intension/Locality thesis)):

Intensional (vs. Extensional): An abstract specification that covers an unbounded range.

Non-Local: (vs. Local): An abstract specification that covers all parts of a software system.

The article describes each of the steps as they relate to these two attributes of software development. By defining such abstract concepts with such terminology, the authors provide us with a formal means of discussing such abstactions.

Personally, I found this article to provide a good separation between the three concepts that can be used as used as a guide in writing up softward architecture/design documents, specifically in cases where these tasks are performed by separate members of a development team.