An Overview of Reference Architectures

This chapter provides a characterization of what reference architectures are precisely and how they differ from similar architecture types, such as software product architectures, reference models, and product line architectures (PLA). This chapter also presents the main categories of reference architectures and their roles in developing and evolving software-intensive systems, including those critical ones. Reference architecture engineering is also addressed, as it can organize the tasks associated with the analysis, synthesis (i.e., description or documentation), and evaluation of these architectures