Issues and Concerns for an eBusiness Architect

As we have seen, there are numerous stakeholder interests to consider in designing an eBusiness solution. It is often helpful to think of these issues in terms of a list of key issues or questions that the architect must address.

These questions span multiple facets of the business, and should include the issues described in the table below.

The purpose of the eBusiness solution is by far the most important, but quite often the most overlooked. If it is not clear what the design should achieve, then there is no way to measure its success.

Remember that the purpose, is the foundation for all other questions.

The role of the architect is made more complex by the fact that these issues interact with each other. In many ways, managing these multiple priorities is a balancing act. Let us look at a simple example. If the volume projections for the system indicate that a large system must be constructed to handle significant traffic, then a large portion of the allocated financial budget must be set aside for that development. This may reduce the amount of funds available elsewhere in the budget, for example, funds allocated for management information.

In considering key concerns and issues, those most likely to cause the success or failure of the project should be addressed first.
In the next lesson, we will define the quality factors that the architect must consider.
Click the Exercise link below to complete an exercise on the key issues and concerns of stakeholders.
Issues Concerns Exercise