Activity 29System Metaphor

Tell a simple story that demonstrates how the system influences specific quality attributes. The system metaphor was introduced by Kent Beck in Extreme Programming Explained: Embrace Change [Bec00] as a way to create a common vision and shared vocabulary for the architecture.

Benefits

  • Lightweight description technique perfect for co-located teams to use during times of fast architectural evolution

  • Can be combined with other description methods

  • Cheap to create, easy to change

Description

In Making Metaphors That Matter [KV11], Michail Velichansky and I summarize concrete guidance for creating useful system metaphors. Good system metaphors have the following attributes:

  • Represent a single view of the system.
  • Deal with only ...

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