Evaluating an Architectural Design

(1) The true test of an architecture is how well the system meets its functional and non-functional requirements when in use

(2) You can do some evaluation by comparing the design against reference architectures or generic architectural patterns

(3) Bosch's description of non-functional characteristics of architectural patterns can help with architectural evaluation

Explanation

Evaluating an architectural design is difficult because the true test is how well the system meets its requirements when in use. However, some evaluation can be done by comparing the design against reference architectures or generic architectural patterns, and Bosch's work on non-functional characteristics of patterns can help. Static code analysis tools operate at the code level, not the architectural level.