Architectural trade studies
Trade studies are specifically concerned with the merit-based selection of approach or technology based on important concerns specific to the system development, system environment, or stakeholder needs. At a very fundamental level, trade studies are about making design choices to optimize important properties of the system at the expense of properties deemed less critical. To effectively perform trade studies, it is important to identify the things that can be optimized, the aspects subject to optimization, the MoE, and a set of alternatives to be evaluated.
Purpose
The purpose of performing an architectural trade study is to select an optimal design solution from a set of alternatives.
Inputs and preconditions
The inputs to this recipe are:
- Functionality of concern, scoped as a set of requirements and/or use cases
- Design options capable of achieving that functionality
Outputs and postconditions
The primary...
