University of Technology Sydney

32560 Information Systems Architecture Design

6cp; Forms of attendance and mode of delivery in this subject have changed to enable social distancing and reduce the risks of spreading COVID-19 in our community.
Requisite(s): 32557 Enabling Enterprise Information Systems
These requisites may not apply to students in certain courses. See access conditions.
Recommended studies:

1.5hpw online activities (lectures); 3hpw face to face (tutorial)


Postgraduate

Description

This postgraduate subject addresses the large questions raised by agile practice on the role of architects. It is of particular relevance to students who are questioning how useful architecture and design is in an agile world where accepted best practice is to “fail fast” and iterate quickly rather than follow carefully laid plans.

More specifically, this subject introduces the student to two distinct forms of architecture:

  • Enterprise Architecture, which addresses the strategic question of how IT can best be utilised and aligned to support business needs. The subject focuses on a pragmatic form of enterprise architecture that accepts that organizations constantly evolve and that uncertainty is inescapable. This means that it is generally neither feasible nor desirable to design IT landscapes in exhaustive detail, and yet it would be risky to leave them to evolve at the whim of individual projects. Students learn which aspects of an organization are most useful to model, and develop a toolbox of artefacts to capture and communicate this information.
  • Solution Architecture, which addresses the tactical question of how best to deliver specific IT solutions that best address specific business needs. This subject focuses on how architects and analysts can work effectively with agile development teams, to ensure that business needs and architectural concerns are not lost in the agile software development process that might otherwise focus exclusively on end-users. It helps students recognise when aspects of a system should be defined up-front, and when they are better left to be discovered through the agile process. Students learn how and when to apply proven architectural patterns, how to recognise and avoid common architecture problems, and how to model system architectures using diagrams that are useful and easy to understand.

Typical availability

Spring session, City campus


Detailed subject description.

Access conditions

Note: The requisite information presented in this subject description covers only academic requisites. Full details of all enforced rules, covering both academic and admission requisites, are available at access conditions and My Student Admin.