3 System Scope and Context

Table of Contents

• 3.1 Business context
• 3.2 Technical context

System scope and context - as the name suggests - delimits your system (i.e. your scope) from all its communication partners (neighboring systems and users, i.e. the context of your system). It thereby specifies the external interfaces.

If necessary, differentiate the business context (domain specific inputs and outputs) from the technical context (channels, protocols, hardware).

The domain interfaces and technical interfaces to communication partners are among your system’s most critical aspects. Make sure that you completely understand them.

3.1 Business context

Specification of all communication partners (users, IT-systems, …) with explanations of domain specific inputs and outputs or interfaces. Optionally you can add domain specific formats or communication protocols.

All stakeholders should understand which data are exchanged with the environment of the system.

3.2 Technical context

Technical interfaces (channels and transmission media) linking your system to its environment. In addition a mapping of domain specific input/output to the channels, i.e. an explanation with I/O uses which channel.

Many stakeholders make architectural decision based on the technical interfaces between the system and its context. Especially infrastructure or hardware designers decide these technical interfaces.