Architectural Design Flashcards
6 cards from real ASEP practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 6 Architectural Design flashcards as text
In systems architecture, what does 'separation of concerns' primarily achieve?
Answer: Isolation of distinct functional responsibilities into independent components
Separation of concerns divides a system into distinct sections, each addressing a separate concern, which improves modularity and maintainability.
Which architectural trade-off is most directly addressed by selecting between centralized and distributed processing architectures?
Answer: Performance vs. fault tolerance
Centralized architectures often offer better raw performance but create single points of failure, while distributed architectures improve fault tolerance at the cost of complexity and potential latency.
What is the purpose of an Architecture Tradeoff Analysis Method (ATAM) evaluation?
Answer: To evaluate how well an architecture satisfies quality attribute goals and identify sensitivity points
ATAM evaluates an architecture against quality attribute scenarios to identify risks, sensitivity points, and tradeoffs before detailed design begins.
Which concept describes the practice of hiding internal implementation details of a component behind a well-defined interface?
Answer: Encapsulation
Encapsulation hides internal implementation details behind an interface, allowing components to change internally without affecting other parts of the system.
When decomposing a system architecture, which criterion is most important for defining subsystem boundaries?
Answer: Minimizing coupling between subsystems while maximizing internal cohesion
Good decomposition minimizes coupling (dependencies between subsystems) while maximizing cohesion (relatedness within each subsystem), producing maintainable and testable units.
What role does a reference architecture serve in the systems engineering process?
Answer: It provides a proven template of architectural patterns and design decisions for a specific domain
A reference architecture provides a reusable template of proven patterns and decisions for a particular domain, accelerating design and reducing risk.