Capability Pattern: Solution Analysis and Design

As a result of the successful implementation of this process:

Solution designs optimize the tradeoffs between requirements and constraints
Stakeholder agreement on high-level solution design is achieved before major investments in solution development is done
Reuse of existing solution designs and components minimizes time-to-implementation and improves solution quality
Flexible and effective designs reduce the total cost of ownership over the complete solution life cycle

Design of all aspects of the solution necessary to meet stakeholder requirements

Includes

Creating and managing design baselines (specifications baseline, component architecture baseline) throughout the full range of the solution life cycle including solution shutdown and retirement
Ensuring solution design compliance with the business and IT architectures
Identification and consideration of constraints, such as budget, and making cases for constraint relief or seeking guidance when a sound solution design is not achievable against those constraints
Creating different solution architectural views (component model, operational model, deployment model, data model)
Evaluating tradeoffs (such as financial cost alternatives) and making design and sourcing approach decisions (make versus buy versus reuse)
Making architecture exception requests
Modeling, simulation, and prototyping
Design of all required solution elements (application, infrastructure, process, organization, data, training, deployment, technology, testing)
High and low level design
Systems operation and management design, such as significant event definition, monitoring data definition
Ensuring cross-functional participation in design acceptance from service management disciplines

Excludes

Enterprise architecture (Architecture Management)
Requirements management (Stakeholder Requirements Management, Solution Requirements)
Procurement (Supplier Management)
Solution Development and Integration