Example

of an architectural decision

Description Implementing the Bot product as a Facebook App
Problem The product should be used in both iOS and android
mobile devices
stakeholder concerns Concern from Course staff: portability
related user stories The decision affects all user stories
Solution Develop the product as a plugin of existing social media
platforms, for instance as a Facebook App. Doing this, the
presentation layer of the product utilizes the Facebook
messenger interface. Therefore, the product can be used
in any devices, so long they have an access to Facebook.
The business logic and database is managed in a backend
server.
Considered alternative Implementing the Bot as a web app. The product
solutions will be written in HTML5, CSS and Javascript and
accessed via mobile web browsers.
Implementing the Bot as a native mobile app. The
product will be written in Swift for iOS devices and
in Java for Android devices separately
Positive influencing forces Easier to implement than the alternative solutions
Saving effort by skipping a separate GUI as in web
or mobile apps
Saving effort by utilizing social platform APIs for
cross-cutting concerns, i.e. security
Negative influencing forces Less flexible in GUI design
Depends on the social media platform, i.e.
regulation or APIs
Evaluation As a team we are all confident about the solution/ The
decision is accepted for the moment, but might change
later when we are more certain on the discussed
technologies.