Obviously, architectural concepts
that are influenced by these business imperatives should provide a technological abstraction that
can be reused in future projects.5
Layered Business Environment. A business environment that is made up of management structures,
lines of business, or even business products can be arranged in a layered formation as
well. This depiction can show the various dependencies between business elements and business
organizations to promote a better understanding of the environment that the architecture must
support.
Exhibit 15.4 illustrates a layered business environment that includes two lines of business:
small business and credit card (positioned on the bottom). The small-business line is further broken
down into two executing authorities: the small-business loan and the small-business accounts
departments. In the same fashion, the credit-card line of business, positioned on the bottom right,
is further divided into two smaller business domains: the credit verification and the risk-assessment
departments. Note that this hierarchical presentation articulates the various associations and subordinations
between business authorities that may be crucial for a sound conceptual architecture.
In addition, this arrangement can also communicate the sponsorship structure of a technological
environment.
TECHNOLOGICAL ENVIRONMENT. A technological environment simply represents the various
service-oriented software assets that interface and collaborate to provide a solution.
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