Architecting for nonfunctional requirements

One major risk of system capacity is already mitigated by the fact that cloud was written as a requirement. This is not just a technology requirement, but a business-based enterprise direction. Let's take a quick look at some of the other nonfunctional requirements and how the architecture is aligned to solve them:

• Aesthetics: It is the aesthetic quality of the user interface. This requirement is architecturally fulfilled by the use of portal technology as the main presentation layer. The call center users are coming from a green screen world for user interface; while the bank users are coming from a mixture of both green screens and some J2EE frontends. Utilizing portal is a huge leap in interface enhancement.

• Accessibility: It is the ease with which different facets of the system are exercised. Both the Single Sign-On and the information architecture for this transformation effort make this requirement to be aligned with portal capabilities...