Next to architecture, Dragon1 recognizes architecture designs. A design is a building plan. An architecture design is a plan for how to realize an architecture. An architecture is a total concept for a structure.
Architecture designs are commonly created in a design book or atlas.
Standard Architecture Designs
The following standard architecture designs are recognized:
- Enterprise Architecture Design
- Business Architecture Design
- Information Architecture Design
- Application Architecture Design
- Data Architecture Design
- Technical Architecture Design
- Security Architecture Design
An architecture design contains models, views, and visualizations at the conceptual level with concepts, logical level with elements, physical level with components, and implementational with technical products.
Dragon1 differentiates the following five levels of designs:
- Conceptual architecture design - containing descriptions and models, views, visualizations, and scenarios of concepts and principles at the conceptual level, and design sketches of total concepts.
- Preliminary architecture design - containing descriptions and models, views, visualizations, and scenarios of elements and principles at a logical level.
- Definitive architecture design - containing descriptions and models, views, visualizations, and scenarios of components and objects at a physical level
- Detailed architecture design - containing descriptions and models, views, visualizations, and scenarios of technical products at an implementational level
- Contract documents - Names and numbers of products of suppliers
In practice, we also see architecture design documents that contain four diagrams, each for 1 level and 1 page with an order list of items to buy.
Please also read the Architecture Design Framework page.
Check the section on Processes for when to create an architecture design.