An architecture description (AD) is a work product used to express and communicate an architecture. The actual architecture of a software system is separate from the artifacts that describe and document it, such that we can create different artifacts for a given architecture.
ADs identify the stakeholders of the software system and their concerns. Stakeholders include people such as users, administrators, domain experts, business analysts, product owners, management, and the development team.
Each of these stakeholders has various concerns, which are either unique to them or shared with other stakeholders. Examples of system concerns related to architecture include the goals of the system, the suitability of the architecture to accomplish those goals, the ability of the architecture to meet quality attribute scenarios, the ease with which...