IFEM phase · architecture
Architecture — IFEM Doctrine
Architecture turns the intent into visible responsibilities and relationships without pretending that every local implementation choice is already known.
Purpose
Its purpose is to make ownership, dependency direction, change boundaries, and important system decisions inspectable by the people who must execute them.
Inputs and responsibilities
Architecture receives the intent brief, constraints, risk signals, and unresolved decisions that need a structural response.
Outputs and artifacts
Artifacts include a responsibility map, dependency view, boundary decisions, and an explanation of which concerns belong together or apart.
Verification and decision gate
Verification checks that each important responsibility has an owner, dependencies have an intentional direction, and the structure can be explained without relying on tribal knowledge.
Common failure modes
A diagram is mistaken for ownership, boundaries are drawn around technologies rather than responsibilities, or architecture hides unresolved decisions.
Execution notes
The architectural view should remain useful when implementation details change. It records why responsibilities are separated, which dependencies are allowed to cross a boundary, and where a future interface will need a stable promise. Decomposition is therefore a decision about accountability, not merely a collection of boxes. The handoff to Interfaces is ready when each boundary has an observable reason to exist.