Software Architect's Handbook

Architecture design is an iterative process

Another important similarity found in architecture design is the fact that it is an iterative process. Designing a software architecture is too complex to address all of the architectural drivers simultaneously.

The design of the architecture occurs over multiple iterations until all architectural drivers have been addressed. Each iteration starts by selecting the architectural drivers that will be considered for that iteration. If candidate solutions have been validated after they have been evaluated, those design decisions are integrated into the overall architecture.

If there are no more architectural drivers that need solutions, the validated architecture is complete. If outstanding architectural ...