An abstract view distinct from the details of implementation, algorithm, and data representation, an architecture is a reusable asset that can be applied to subsequent systems. It is crucial to a software organizations business strategy. Drawing on their own extensive experience, the authors cover the essential technical topics for specifying and validating a system. They also emphasize the importance of the business context in which large systems are designed. Their aim is to present software architecture in a real-world setting, reflecting both the opportunities and constraints that companies encounter. To that end, case studies that describe successful architectures illustrate key points of both technical and organizational discussions. Topics new to this edition include: Architecture design and analysis, including the Architecture Tradeoff Analysis Method (ATAM), Capturing quality requirements and achieving them through quality scenarios and tactics, Using architecture reconstruction to recover undocumented architectures, Documenting architectures using the Unified Modeling Language (UML), New case studies, including Web-based examples and a wireless Enterprise JavaBeans (EJB) system designed to support wearable computers, The financial aspects of architectures, including use of the Cost Benefit Analysis Method (CBAM) to make decisions. If you design, develop, or manage the building of large software systems (or plan to do so), or if you are interested in acquiring such s