The Architect’s Dilemma – Will Reference Architectures Help

Abstract. Effective standard architectures promise to improve the efficiency of software projects and the quality of resulting systems. However, hardly any standard architecture has become established in practise to date. They are either too general or too specific to be effective – the architect’s dilemma. Reference architectures have a less binding character than standard architectures and still are of high value. This paper presents exemplary parts of the Quasar reference architecture for business information systems, the result of more than seven years of architectural research at sd&m.