Software Engineering Institute

This report contains a description of an architecture-centric life-cycle model that uses the Carnegie Mellon Software Engineering Institute's architecture-centric engineering (ACE) methods embedded in a Team Software Process (TSP) framework and our experience in piloting the approach in an actual development effort. Combining ACE and TSP provides an iterative approach for delivering quality systems on time and within budget. TSP provides the infrastructure in estimation, planning, measurement, and project management. ACE provides the means for designing, evaluating, and implementing a system so that it will satisfy its business and quality goals. Bringing these approaches together results in something that is much more than the sum of the parts. The combined approach offers help to organizations to set an architecture/developer team in motion using mature, disciplined engineering practices that produce quality software quickly.