Domain-independent reference architectures and standards

Abstract

To remain competitive, organizations are challenged to make informed design decisions in order to construct software systems with similar architectural needs. They use reference architectures to achieve interoperability of (parts of) their software, standardization of software systems among multiple actors, and faster development with templates and guidelines for designing. In this chapter, we give an overview of domain-independent reference architectures and standards available in the gray literature for practitioners, classified by technology (cloud computing, big data, Internet of Things, and artificial intelligence) and analyzed based on their characteristics (e.g., purpose and contents). The discussed reference architectures are either published by standardization organizations such as ISO/IEC and NIST or fostered by large companies such as Microsoft and IBM.