Implementing software architecture practices in a new environment

During a discussion with the head of the software infrastructure team about the need for software architecture practices at Temple-Inland Company, the manager responded by noting since the company is not a software development company “there are no real benefits to implementing software development practices in the company”. This is an approach taken by many companies whose software development activity is primarily undertaken to support business activities such as the case with manufacturing or financial companies. This paper examines the process of implementing software architectural practices into an organization. The information contained here should be useful to small startup software companies who might assume that it is too costly to incorporate software architectural practices into their current development process. This paper should also benefit large organizations who primarily view software as solutions for short term immediate support and not in terms longer term strategic goals. Software development teams with projects that suffer from cost overruns, scheduling problems and user dissatisfaction should also find this information useful.