Content Management Architecture

Definitions

Content Management Architecture

the architecture that documents the most important, pervasive, top-level, strategic inventions, decisions, and their associated rationales concerning architectural support for performing the content management tasks

Responsibilities

The typical responsibilities of a Content Management Architecture are to:

• Support Configuration Management Tasks.
  Ensure support for the performance of content management tasks.
• Fulfill Requirements.
  Provide an overall application structure and set of mechanisms that fulfill all architecturally significant requirements concerning content management.
• Drive Designs & Implementations.
  Influence and constrain the designs and associated implementations of components supporting content management.
• Improve Communication.
  Improve communication among stakeholders concerning support for content management.
• Estimate Costs.
  Provide input (e.g., number, size, and complexity of system components and mechanisms) for estimating the cost of the producing or upgrading content management capabilities.

Contents

The typical contents of a content management architecture are the related:

• Architectural style and patterns.
• Logical architecture in terms of its major classes, processes, and functions.
• Physical architecture in terms of its major blackbox components (i.e., data, hardware, software, user interface, and personnel), their responsibilities, and the relationships between them.
• Major architectural mechanisms.
• Major technology and associated vendor selections.

These contents can be in the form of:

• Architectural Diagrams:
  • Content Management Architecture Diagrams.
  • Hardware Architecture Diagrams.
  • Software Architecture Diagrams.
• Architectural Models:
  • Data Model.
  • Object Model.
  • Process Model.
• Text.

Stakeholders

The typical stakeholders of a Content Management Architecture are:

• Producers:
  • Architecture Team
• Evaluators:
  • Architecture Evaluation Team
  • Customer Organization, which evaluates the architecture for feasibility and appropriateness
• Approvers:
  • Technical Leader
  • Project Manager
  • Customer Representative
• Maintainers:
  • Architecture Team
• Users:
  • Software Development Team

Phases

A content management architecture typically is produced during the following phases:

• Business Strategy: Not Applicable
• Business Optimization: Not Applicable
• Initiation: Started
• Construction: Completed
• Delivery: Maintained
• Usage: Maintained
• Retirement: Archived

Preconditions

A content management architecture typically can be started if the following preconditions hold:

• The initiation phase is started.
• The architecture team has been staffed and trained in architecting.

Inputs

The typical inputs to a content management architecture include:

• Work Products:
  • System Requirements Specification
• Stakeholders:
  • Content Management Domain Experts
  • Content Management Package Vendor Representatives

Guidelines

• See the general guidelines for architectures.
• The content management architecture is largely driven by the:
  • Application requirements regarding content management.
  • Availability of appropriate commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) content management packages.

Conventions

A content management architecture is typically constrained by the following conventions:

• Work Flow
• Content and Format Standard
• Inspection Checklist

Examples

• Example Content Management Architecture Diagram.