ISO/IEC/IEEE 42010:2022 PDF

Overview - ISO/IEC/IEEE 42010:2022 (Architecture description)

ISO/IEC/IEEE 42010:2022, titled Software, systems and enterprise - Architecture description, specifies requirements for the structure and expression of an architecture description (AD). The standard applies to a wide range of entities (software, systems, enterprises, systems-of-systems, product lines, services, technologies, business domains) and distinguishes the architecture of an entity from the architecture description that documents it. It defines how to use architectural concepts and relationships in an AD, and how to demonstrate conformance for ADs, architecture description frameworks (ADF), architecture description languages (ADL), architecture viewpoints and model kinds.

Important: the standard does not mandate architecting processes, tools, notations, media, or formats for recording an AD.

Key technical topics and requirements

• Conceptual foundations (Clause 5): definitions and models for stakeholders, concerns, perspectives, aspects, views, viewpoints, view components, model kinds, correspondences, decisions and rationale.
• Specification of an Architecture Description (Clause 6): required AD elements such as AD identification/overview, stakeholder identification, perspectives and concerns, inclusion of viewpoints and views, view components, correspondences, and decision/rationale recording.
• Architecture Description Frameworks and Languages (Clause 7): requirements for specifying an architecture description framework (ADF) and an architecture description language (ADL) to support consistent AD creation and use.
• Viewpoints and Model Kinds (Clause 8): requirements for specifying architecture viewpoints, model kinds, and view methods. Emphasis on model-based view components and legends; model kinds are a conformance case to encourage model-based architecting.
• Conformance and correspondence: explicit rules for demonstrating AD/ADF/ADL/viewpoint/model kind conformance and how to record correspondences between AD elements and between distinct ADs.

Practical applications and who should use it

ISO/IEC/IEEE 42010:2022 is used to:

• Create consistent, stakeholder-focused architecture descriptions for complex systems and enterprises
• Define or evaluate an architecture description framework (ADF) or architecture description language (ADL)
• Structure architecture viewpoints, views and model kinds to support design, verification, trade-offs and decision making
• Record architecture decisions, rationale and correspondences to maintain coherence across models and documentation

Primary users:

• Systems architects, enterprise architects, software architects
• Systems engineers, solution architects, technical leads
• Tool and modeling language vendors, method and framework developers
• Project managers, contract authors and regulators needing standardized ADs

Related standards

• ISO/IEC/IEEE 42030 (architecture evaluation) - referenced for architecting frameworks and evaluation
• ISO/IEC/IEEE 42020 - alignment on terminology such as “entity of interest”

By following ISO/IEC/IEEE 42010:2022, organizations can produce clear, consistent, and verifiable architecture descriptions that map stakeholder concerns to views and models, support model-based architecting, and enable traceable architecture decisions.