Software Engineering

14.1.1 
Establish the trade-study scope
Trade studies originate from architectural challenges affecting the software product 
definition. These areas of concern involve: (1) the establishment of an achievable soft-
ware requirements baseline, (2) formulating the functional architecture and its repre-
sentative behavioral models, and (3) establishing a robust structural configuration for 
the physical architecture. Each area of concern represents a distinct type of architec-
tural decision that can potentially affect other aspects of the architectural solution.
The scope of each trade study must be defined to restrain the investigation and 
ensure that the analysis will provide the data necessary to facilitate an informed, 
impartial design decision. Therefore, the manner in which the trade study is defined 
deserves thoughtful consideration. Establishing the trade-study scope should be 
driven by the data required to be collected and analyzed to support the architec-
tural assessment. The problem under investigation may present itself as a stake-
holder need, performance, behavioral, structural, or quality concern. However, 
every architectural decision may entail complications associated with other aspects 
of the product definition and life-cycle processes. No architectural decision should 
be taken casually. Conversely, the rigors applied in conducting the trade study must 
be tempered to the significance of the architectural problem being evaluated.