This document establishes a set of process descriptions for the governance and management of a collection of architectures and the architecting of entities. This document establishes a set of process descriptions for the conceptualization, evaluation and elaboration of an architecture and the architecting of an entity. This document also establishes an enablement process description that provides support to these other architecture processes. These processes are associated with the architecture practice applicable to various entities such as enterprises, business components, capability areas, mission areas, missions, systems, systems of systems, families of systems, infrastructure, products, services, product lines, hardware, software applications and technologies. These processes are intended for: • participants in architecting and engineering efforts; • organizations and projects adopting architecture practice in their architecting and engineering efforts; • developers of architectures, architecture designs, solution designs, architecture descriptions, reference architectures, reference architecture descriptions and reference models; • stakeholders using architectures as the baseline for their activities; • providers of architecture-related standards, guidelines, training, education and evaluation instruments used for assessment of architecture practices and architecting work products; • developers of architecture description languages, architecture modelling languages, architecture frameworks, architecture development and modelling methodologies, and architecture-related tools and technologies. The application areas of this document include the following: Artificial Intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), Internet of Things (IoT), cloud computing, big data, smart cities, smart manufacturing, cybersecurity, digital twin, telecommunications, aerospace, defense, banking, finance, insurance, energy, automotive, hospitality, healthcare, supply chain, transportation, manufacturing, agriculture, production and infrastructure. This document addresses generic architecture-related terms and definitions and does not address domain-specific terms and definitions. This document does not address concepts and principles related to architecture competencies.
- Standard Committee
- C/S2ESC - Software & Systems Engineering Standards Committee
- Status
- Active PAR
- PAR Approval
- 2026-09-25
- Superseding
- 42020-2019
Working Group Details
- Society
- IEEE Computer Society
- Standard Committee
- C/S2ESC - Software & Systems Engineering Standards Committee
- Working Group
-
ARCH_WG - IEEE Systems and software engineering - Architecture WG
- IEEE Program Manager
- Christian Orlando
Contact Christian Orlando - Working Group Chair
- Richard Hilliard
Other Activities From This Working Group
Current projects that have been authorized by the IEEE SA Standards Board to develop a standard.
P42024
ISO/IEC/IEEE Draft International Standard for Enterprise, systems and software -- Architecture fundamentals
This document specifies a core set of vocabulary, concepts and principles associated with the architecture practice for various kinds of entities, including enterprise, business component, capability area, mission, system, systems of systems, family of systems, infrastructure, product (goods or services), product line, service offering, software, technology and business domain. The vocabulary, concepts and principles apply within the context of: - organizations that develop architecture; - organizations that deliver enterprise constructs wider than, aligned with, or within the parent organization; - organizations seeking sustained success through the implementation of architecture practice; - organizations and interested parties seeking to improve communication through a common understanding of the vocabulary, concepts and principles used in architecture description; - organizations performing conformity assessments against the requirements of architecture-related standards and specifications; - providers of architecture descriptions, guidelines, training, education, evaluation or recommendations in architecture practice; - developers of architecture-related standards, architecture description languages, architecture modelling languages, reference architectures, reference models related to architecture, architecture frameworks and architecture-related tools and technologies.
P42030
ISO/IEC/IEEE International Standard - Enterprise, systems and software -- Architecture evaluation framework
This document specifies the means to organize and record architecture evaluations for enterprise, systems and software fields of application. The aim of this document is to enable architecture evaluations that are used to: a) validate that architectures address the concerns of stakeholders; b) assess the quality of architectures with respect to their intended purpose; c) assess the value of architectures to their stakeholders; d) determine whether architecture entities address their intended purpose; e) provide architecture-related knowledge and information about entities; f) get architecture-related knowledge and information about entities; g) assess progress towards achieving architecture objectives; h) clarify understanding of problem space and of stakeholder needs and expectations; i) identify risks and opportunities associated with architectures and related entities; and i) support decision making where architectures are involved. The entity being evaluated can be of several kinds, as illustrated in the following examples: enterprise, organization, solution, system, subsystem, business, data (as a data element or data structure), application, information technology (as a collection), mission, product, service, software item, hardware item, etc. The kind of entity can also be a product line, family of systems, system of systems, etc. It also spans the variety of applications that utilize digital technology such as mobile, cloud, big data, robotics, Internet of Things (IoT), web, desktop, embedded systems, and so on. The generic Architecture Evaluation (AE) framework specified in this document can be used in support of the Architecture Evaluation process defined in ISO/IEC/IEEE 42020. Specific frameworks can be derived from this generic framework, which can provide a mapping to the system life cycle processes in ISO/IEC/IEEE 15288 or to the software life cycle processes in ISO/IEC/IEEE 12207.
P42042
ISO/IEC/IEEE Draft International Standard for Enterprise, Systems and Software -- Reference architectures
This standard specifies the requirements to be satisfied by reference architectures (RA) applicable to entities of interest such as software, systems, enterprises, missions, systems of systems, families of systems, products (goods or services), product lines, technologies, and business domains. The application areas of this standard include the following: artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), Internet of Things (IoT), cloud computing, big data, smart cities, smart manufacturing, cybersecurity, digital twin, telecommunications, aerospace defense, banking, finance, insurance, energy, automotive, logistics, hospitality, healthcare, supply chain, transportation, manufacturing and production, agriculture, and infrastructure. Some RAs are not specific to a domain of their application, rather they capture a domain of interest for many application areas, e.g., the domain of security architecture is relevant for many application areas.
Standards approved by the IEEE SA Standards Board that are within the 10-year lifecycle.
42010-2022
IEEE/ISO/IEC International Standard for Software, systems and enterprise--Architecture description
This document specifies requirements for the structure and expression of an architecture description (AD) for various entities, including software, systems, enterprises, systems of systems, families of systems, products (goods or services), product lines, service lines, technologies and business domains. This document distinguishes the architecture of an entity of interest from an AD expressing that architecture. Architectures are not the subject of this document. This document specifies requirements for use of the architectural concepts and their relationships as captured in an AD. It does not specify requirements for any entity of interest or its environment. This document specifies requirements for an architecture description framework (ADF), an architecture description language (ADL), architecture viewpoints and model kinds in order to usefully support the development and use of an AD. This document specifies conformance to the requirements for an AD, ADF, ADL, architecture viewpoint and model kind. This document does not specify the processes, architecting methods, models, notations, techniques or tools by which an AD is created, utilized or managed. This document does not specify any format or media for recording an AD.
42020-2019
ISO/IEC/IEEE International Standard - Software, systems and enterprise -- Architecture processes
This document complements the architecture-related processes identified in ISO/IEC/IEEE 15288, ISO/IEC/IEEE 12207 and ISO 15704 with activities and tasks that enable architects and others to more effectively and efficiently implement architecture practices. Implementing these practices can help ensure that the architecture has greater influence on business and mission success. It specifies a coherent set of processes for governance, management, conceptualization, evaluation and elaboration of architectures, and activities that enable these processes. Users of this document can apply these processes in the context of: (1) understanding, development and evolution of entities through their life cycle stages such as conception, development, implementation, operation, sustainment, decommissioning, and disposal; (2) organization(s) acting as users, customers and providers of the solution specified by the architecture description; and (3) architecting of entities.
42030-2019
ISO/IEC/IEEE International Standard - Software, systems and enterprise -- Architecture evaluation framework
This document complements the architecture-related processes identified in ISO/IEC/IEEE 42020, ISO/IEC/IEEE 15288, ISO/IEC/IEEE 12207 and ISO 15704 with a framework in support of architecture evaluation. It especially supports the Architecture Evaluation process in ISO/IEC/IEEE 42020. Implementing the principles and concepts in this framework will help ensure that the architecture has greater influence on business and mission success. It specifies a coherent set of elements for use in evaluation synthesis, value assessment and architectural analysis. Users of this standard can apply the framework in the context of: (1) determination of the suitability of a proposed architecture; (2) choosing among architecture alternatives; and (3) assessing the mission or business impact from the use of a new architecture or change to an established architecture.
These standards have been replaced with a revised version of the standard, or by a compilation of the original active standard and all its existing amendments, corrigenda, and errata.
No Superseded Standards
These standards have been removed from active status through a ballot where the standard is made inactive as a consensus decision of a balloting group.
No Inactive-Withdrawn Standards
These standards are removed from active status through an administrative process for standards that have not undergone a revision process within 10 years.
No Inactive-Reserved Standards