6.4.1 Architectural Description
Return to Required Submission Content
The architectural description defines the structural organization of the proposed Reference Architecture, including its elements, responsibilities, relationships, interaction constructs, attachment points, processing flows, boundary constructs, and Governance abstractions.
Requirements
| Requirement | Statement |
|---|---|
| SIP-044 — Structured Architectural Description |
The Submission SHALL include a structured architectural description of the proposed Reference Architecture. |
| SIP-045 — Architectural Visual Representations |
The Submission SHALL include visual representations of the ordered processing flows and boundary constructs defined by the architectural model without requiring conforming implementations to use a specific modeling notation. |
Required Coverage
The architectural description required by SIP-044 includes the architectural information governed by the following requirements:
| Requirement | Required Architectural Information |
|---|---|
| SIP-003 — Reference Architecture Constituents | Architectural elements, roles, responsibilities, relationships, and interaction constructs |
| SIP-005 — Structured Information Flow | Architectural constructs representing the flow of structured information |
| SIP-006 — Ordered Modular Processing Flows | Ordered processing flows composed of modular components |
| SIP-007 — Structured Information Attachment Points | Attachment points through which structured information enters and exits architectural elements |
| SIP-008 — Information Boundary Constructs | Boundary constructs governing ingress, transformation, and egress |
| SIP-019 — Data Plane and Control Plane Separation | Architectural separation between the data plane and the control plane |
| SIP-020 — Governance Constraints and Interface Contracts | Separation of Governance constraints from Interface Contracts |
Notes for Editors
The requirement identifiers and short titles link to the authoritative requirement records in Annex C.
The Statements for SIP-044 and SIP-045 are transcluded from their corresponding Annex C requirement pages and are not independently maintained copies.
Make changes to a Statement on its Annex C requirement page.
The Required Coverage table provides a nonnormative summary of the architectural information governed by the referenced requirements. The corresponding Annex C records remain authoritative.
SIP-042 requires the Submission to include a complete specification addressing all applicable requirements. SIP-044 establishes that the specification includes a structured architectural description. Together, they require the architectural description to document the applicable information governed by SIP-003, SIP-005 through SIP-008, SIP-019, and SIP-020.
SIP-045 requires visual representations as specification deliverables. It does not make the notation used to create those representations mandatory for conforming implementations.
© 2026 Dido Solutions, Inc. and Jackrabbit Consulting, Inc.