To provide a basis for understanding the physical distribution of the system across a set of processing
nodes, an architectural view called the deployment view is used in the Analysis & Design
workflow. The deployment view (one of five views - see below) illustrates the distribution of processing
across a set of nodes in the system, including the physical distribution of processes and threads. The
deployment view is refined during each iteration.
The deployment view shows the physical distribution of processing within the system.
There are four additional views, the Use-Case View (handled in the Requirements workflow), and the
Logical View, Process View, and Implementation View; these views are handled in the
Analysis & Design, and Implementation workflows.
The architectural views are documented in a Software Architecture Document. You may add different
views, such as a security view, to convey other specific aspects of the software architecture.
So in essence, architectural views can be seen as abstractions or simplifications of the models built, in
which you make important characteristics more visible by leaving the details aside. The architecture is an
important means for increasing the quality of any model built during system development.
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