Architectural design is paramount in the design of any system. Whether it be a brick-built house or a computer game, the root of a good or bad design is the architecture. Good architectural design is more than just representing the structure of data and program components, required to build computer-based systems; it must be able to answer many questions concerning the application;

• Have all the original requirements been addressed?

• If not, why not? And is the envisaged system still as useful?

• How is each requirement met?

• What are the risks of not meeting some, or even all, original requirements?

• What are the implications of a requirement not being met?

• How will the application be tested to ensure each requirement has been met?

• Are any requirements ambiguous?

• Have any requirements been missed out?

• What is the intended hardware and operating system platform?

• Why was this system chosen?

• What additional software, if any, will be needed to execute the completed application?

• What are the risks of the third-party hardware/software going obsolete?

• How will that affect our completed system?

• Has the intended lifetime of the system been identified and is possible obsolescence a factor?

• What language/s will be used to realise the application?

• Why were these languages chosen?

• What coding standards must be enforced and how will they be policed?

• What testing philosophy will used during development and in-service?

• What data must be stored?

• Will external applications need to communicate with ours?

• How many personnel will be required to meet the deadline?

• Have all risks been identified and quantified?

• How will the high-level description of the system be maintained during the project's lifecycle.

• What system of configuration management will be used?

On completion of the architectural design phase, project management should have;

• a clear understanding of all personnel requirements.

• timescales with appropriate and measurable milestones.

• an exact and full description of the finished application.

• full answers to all the above questions.

• a breakdown of all resources required to realise the project.

• a clear understanding of how the completed application shall function.

• the system of configuration management to be used and how to implement it.

From the architectural documentation, managers responsible for completing the project should be able to deliver the final application on-time, within budget, with measurable and clearly defined reliability and without recourse to the architectural designers.

PPS treat each Project-design on its own merits taking into account the original requirements, timescales and design-personnel availability.  Therefore, the deliverables are bespoke for each Project.  However, all the above points will be fully addressed in the deliverables and the client informed of what the deliverables shall be in the contractual cost and timescale quotation.  For further details of our architectural services specific to your requirements, please contact us for an obligation-free discussion.  We treat all clients with total confidentiality and will enter into any Non-disclosure agreement you require as part of the process.