Models for Evaluating and Improving Architecture Competence
- Posted by admin on April 22nd, 2008 filed in Uncategorized
SEI has released a new paper titled Models for Evaluating and Improving Architecture Competence.Overview from the SEI Download PageSoftware architecture competence is the ability of an individual or organization to acquire, use, and sustain the skills and knowledge necessary to carry out software architecture-centric practices. Previous work in architecture has concentrated on its technical aspects: methods and tools for creating, analyzing, and using architecture. However, a different perspective recognizes that these activities are carried out by people working in organizations, and those people and organizations can use assistance towards consistently producing high-quality architectures.This report lays out the basic concepts of software architecture competence and describes four models for explaining, measuring, and improving the architecture competence of an individual or a software-producing organization.The models are based on(1) the duties, skills, and knowledge required of a software architect or architecture organization(2) human performance technology, an engineering approach applied to improving the competence of individuals(3) organizational coordination, the study of how people and units in an organization share information(4) organizational learning, an approach to how organizations acquire, internalize, and utilize knowledge to improve their performance.The report also shows how the four models can be synergistically applied to produce an evaluation instrument to measure an organization’s architecture competence.Below is the Table of Contents:1 Introduction 11.1 Terminology and Definitions 21.2 Models of Competence 71.3 Organization of This Report 92 The Duties, Skills, and Knowledge (DSK) Model 112.1 What Are an Architect’s Duties, Skills, and Knowledge? 122.2 Advantages and Challenges of the Approach 132.3 Processing the Raw Data 152.4 Duties 162.5 Skills 172.6 Knowledge 182.7 Using the DSK Model to Assess and Improve the Architecture Competence of Individuals 212.8 Duties, Skills, and Knowledge for a Software Architecture Organization 223 The Human Performance Technology Model 253.1 Using the Human Performance Technology Model to Measure and Improve Architecture Competence 274 The Organizational Coordination Model 294.1 Dependency 294.2 The Coordination Capability of an Organization 304.3 Measuring the Coordination Activities 314.4 Relating Organizational Capability to Dependencies 325 The Organizational Learning Model 335.1 The Components of the Organizational Learning Framework 345.2 Using the Organizational Learning Framework to Measure and Improve Architecture Competence 356 Considering the Models Together 376.1 How the Models Together Support Evaluation 376.2 Principles Embodied by the Models 386.3 Coverage Provided by the Models 397 Building an Assessment Instrument 437.1 Assessment Outcomes 437.2 The Foundations and Structure of the Instrument 447.3 Sample Questions 457.4 Reflections on the Instrument Questions 478 Summary 498.1 Next Steps 498.2 Conclusion 51Appendix A: Survey of Practicing Architects 53Appendix B: Complete List of Duties, Skills, and Knowledge 61Bibliography 69
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