2. Definitions
For the purposes of this document, the following terms and definitions apply. Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary should be referenced for terms not defined in this section.
2.1. Accountability
The obligation to demonstrate task achievement and take responsibility for performance in accordance with agreed expectations; the obligation to answer for an action. (Source: Vanderhaegen 2019)
2.2. Alignment Diagram
Any map, diagram, or visualization that reveals both sides of value creation in a single overview. It is a category of diagram that illustrates the interaction between people and organizations. (Source: Kalbach 2016)
2.3. Allowable Lead Time
The time available between starting a product development initiative or process and finishing it in order to satisfy customers.
2.4. Architectural Runway
Consists of the existing code, components, and technical infrastructure needed to implement near-term features without excessive redesign and delay. (Source: Scaled Agile, Inc.)
2.5. Architecture
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The fundamental concepts or properties of a system in its environment embodied in its elements, relationships, and in the principles of its design and evolution. (Source: ISO/IEC/IEEE 42010:2011)
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(System Engineering Context) The embodiment of concept, and the allocation of physical/informational function (process) to elements of form (objects) and definition of structural interfaces among the objects. (Source: Crawley 2016)
2.6. Architecture Principle
A qualitative statement of intent that should be met by the architecture. (Source: The TOGAF® Standard 2018)
2.7. Architecture Style
A coordinated set of architectural constraints that restricts the roles/features of architectural elements and the allowed relationships among those elements within any architecture that conforms to that style. (Source: Fielding 2000)
2.8. Capability
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An ability that an organization, person, or system possesses. (Source:TOGAF Standard 2018)
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The ability to achieve a desired outcome. (Source: CJCSM 2005)
2.9. Catchball
A dialog between senior managers and project teams about the resources and time both available and needed to achieve the targets.
(Source: LEI)
2.10. Continuous Architecture
An architecture with no end-state that is designed to evolve to support the changing needs of the digital enterprise.
2.11. Customer Experience
The sum-totality of how customers engage with your company and brand, not just in a snapshot in time, but throughout the entire arc of being a customer. (Source: Richardson 2010)
2.12. Customer Journey
The series of interactions between a customer and a company that occur as the customer pursues a specific goal. (Source: Forrester®)
2.13. Design Thinking
A methodology for creative problem solving that begins with understanding unmet customer needs. (Sources: Stanford 2010 and MIT)
2.14. Digital Platform
A software system composed of application and infrastructure components that can be rapidly reconfigured using DevOps and cloud-native computing.
2.15. Digital Practices
A synthesis of methods and guidance from a wide variety of practitioners and professional communities active in digital technology (Lean, Agile, DevOps, etc.) designed to create and manage products with an increasing digital component, or lead their organization through Digital Transformation.
2.16. Digital Technology
A powerful, accessible, and potentially game-changing technology (social, mobile, cloud, analytics, Internet of Things (IoT), cognitive computing, and biometrics) often used in combination and usually characterized by its ability to positively impact an enterprise’s business model, customer experience, product, or operating system to enable innovation and growth.
2.17. Digital Transformation
The use of digital practices supported by digital technologies to achieve a shift in the business model, value proposition, operating system, or distribution system to radically improve customer relationships, profitability, internal processes, performance, accessibility, and market reach of an enterprise.
2.18. Domain Model: Domain-Driven Design
The representation of a selected abstraction of domain knowledge that is rigorously organized.
(Source: Evans 2003)
2.19. Ecosystem
The complex community of organisms and their environment, functioning as an ecological unit.
(Source: Wind 2015)
2.20. Epic
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(Classical Agile) A large user story that cannot be delivered as defined within a single iteration, or is large enough that it can be split into smaller user stories.
(Source: Agile Alliance®)
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(Scaled Agile) The highest-level expression of a customer need. Development initiatives that are intended to deliver the value of an investment theme and are identified, prioritized, estimated, and maintained in the portfolio backlog. (Source: Leffingwell 2011)
2.21. Event Storming
The identification of domain events, commands, persona, or entities to facilitate a structured conversation about the domain.
2.22. Evolutionary Architecture
An architecture that supports guided, incremental change across multiple dimensions. (Source: Ford™ 2017)
2.23. Evolvability
A meta-non-functional requirement that aims to prevent other architecture requirements, in particular the non-functional ones, from degrading over time.
2.24. Feature
The functional characteristic of a product (goods or services).
2.25. Hardware
Tools, machines, wiring, and other physical components of a system.
2.26. Information Security
The protection of information and information systems from unauthorized access, use, disclosure, disruption, modification, or destruction in order to provide integrity, confidentiality, and availability.
2.27. Integrality
The system’s property of being made up of elements that behave consistently as a whole.
(Source: Miraglia 2014)
2.28. Intentional Architecture
A purposeful set of statements, models, and decisions that represent some future architectural state.
2.30. Journey Mapping
Laying out the entire end-to-end customer experience.
2.31. Lead Time
The time between the initiation and completion of a process.
2.32. Lean Value Stream
All of the actions, both value-creating and non-value-creating, required to bring a product from concept to launch (also known as the development value stream) and from order to delivery (also known as the operational value stream).
(Source: LEI)
2.33. Modularity
The system’s property of being made up of elements that present a high independence of other elements. (Source: Miraglia 2014)
2.34. Modularization
Design decisions which must be made before the work on independent modules can begin.
(Source: Parnas 1972)
2.35. Operating System
The combination of assets and processes required to deliver a product or a service.
(Source: Van Mieghem 2015)
2.36. Outcome
The result of an activity conducted by a provider and experienced by a consumer.
2.37. Persona
A fictional character which is created based upon research in order to represent the different user types that might use a service, product, site, or brand in a similar way. (Source: Friis Dam 2020)
2.38. Platform Business Model
Business model that is based on the two-sided market theory.
2.39. Process
Any activity or group of activities that takes an input, adds value to it, and provides an output to an internal or external customer.
(Source: Harrington 1991)
2.40. Product
A bundle of services and/or goods offered to customers.
2.41. Product Backlog
A list of the new features, changes to existing features, bug fixes, infrastructure changes, or other activities that a team may deliver in order to achieve a specific outcome. (Source: Agile Alliance)
2.42. Product-Centric Organization
An organization structured around permanent teams by opposition to temporary teams or projects.
2.43. Refactoring
The process of changing a software system in a way that does not alter the external behavior of the code yet improves its internal structure.
(Source: Fowler 2019)
2.44. Responsibility
The obligation to carry forward a task to its successful conclusion.
(Source: Vanderhaegen 2019)
2.45. Service
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(Business context) An act performed for the benefit of another.
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(Software context) An encapsulated component that delivers its outcomes through well-defined interfaces.
2.46. Social System
People, their behavior, cultural beliefs, skills, and expertise, and how work teams are forming and interacting, as well as organizational leadership, strategy, structure, policy, and procedures.
2.47. System
A set of entities and their relationships, whose functionality is greater than the sum of the individual entities. (Source: Crawley 2016)
2.48. User Story
A brief statement of intent that describes something the system needs to do for the user.
(Source: Patton 2014)
2.49. Value Stream
End-to-end collection of value-added and non-value-added activities that create an overall result for a customer, stakeholder, or end user.
2.50. Weak Signal
A seemingly random or disconnected piece of information that at first appears to be background noise but can be recognized as part of a significant pattern by viewing it through a different frame or connecting it with other pieces of information. (Source: Schoemaker 2009)
2.51. Work System
Human participants and/or machines perform processes and activities using software, hardware, and other resources to deliver products or experiences.