SIP-049 — Architectural Concern and Lifecycle Description

Go to Annex C: Requirements

The Submission SHALL describe the separation and coordination of Data, Structure, Semantics, and Interpretation and the independent definition, versioning, and lifecycle Governance of structural, semantic, and interpretive Artifacts.

Data, Structure, Semantics, and Interpretation perform distinct architectural functions. Treating them as separable concerns allows each to be governed, versioned, changed, and reused without requiring simultaneous changes to the others.

The architectural description must also explain how these concerns remain coordinated. Separation without defined relationships would make it difficult to determine which structural, semantic, and interpretive Artifacts apply to particular Data or processing activities.

A conforming Submission demonstrates that:

1. Data, Structure, Semantics, and Interpretation are separately identified
2. The responsibilities assigned to each architectural concern are described
3. Relationships and coordination mechanisms among the concerns are defined
4. Structural Artifacts can be identified and versioned independently
5. Semantic Artifacts can be identified and versioned independently
6. Interpretive Artifacts can be identified and versioned independently
7. Governance authorities and lifecycle controls are identified for each Artifact category
8. Applicability among versions of Data, structural Artifacts, semantic Artifacts, and interpretive Artifacts can be determined
9. Changes to one concern do not silently modify another concern
10. Provenance and traceability among applicable Artifacts are preserved

The description includes the architectural information governed by:

1. SIP-004 — Separation of Architectural Concerns
2. SIP-010 — Structural Artifact Lifecycle Governance
3. SIP-011 — Semantic Artifact Lifecycle Governance
4. SIP-012 — Interpretive Artifact Lifecycle Governance
5. SIP-013 — Reproducible Interpretation
6. SIP-023 — Governance Evolution and Operational Execution

SIP-049 governs the content of the required architectural description. The requirements listed under Required Coverage govern the underlying architectural capabilities and constraints.

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