Software Engineering

14.3.3 
Evaluate structural alternatives
The structural configuration represents how the software units are organized into 
structural components. This involves the assembled and integration tasks that corre-
spond to the high-level conceptual structure of the software product. The preferred 
structural arrangement and integration strategies must be evaluated to comprehend 
the performance and physical characteristics associated with configuration alter-
natives. The primary reasons for conducting trade studies concerning the physical 
architecture are:
1. 
Evaluating the arrangement of structural units
. The arrangement of structural 
units often imposes restrictions on the accessibility to software functional-
ity. Alternative arrangements or groupings of structural units into structural 
components should be analyzed to determine the most acceptable structural 
arrangement.
2. 
Evaluating the software integration strategy
. The approach to software integra-
tion imposes a workload associated with software integration and testing. The 
integration strategy may also affect software performance and resource utiliza-
tion profiles. The consequences associated with the integration strategy can be 
best understood by evaluating alternative strategic schemes.
3. 
Evaluating the integrity of structural solutions
. The structural solution must be 
evaluated to determine how well it conforms to structural design guidelines and 

---