Solutions Continuum

Intro

The solutions continuum describes a progression from generic solutions to industry and organization‑specific implementations. In EA, it helps select and tailor solutions effectively.

Key points:

• Encourages reuse of common solutions before customizing.
• Balances standardization and differentiation.
• Common use cases across EA/BPM/Data/App/Tech include adopting reference solutions, tailoring platforms, and building unique extensions.
• Pitfall: jumping straight to custom builds without evaluating reusable options.

Examples:

• Using a generic BPM platform with industry adapters.
• Extending a reference data model for enterprise needs.
• Configuring a standard API gateway with custom policies.

In practice:

Assess generic, industry, and organizational solution tiers; adopt the simplest tier that meets requirements.

Related terms: Architecture Continuum; Reference Model; Solution Architecture

FAQs:

Q: Is customization always bad?
A: No; customize after exhausting reusable options.

Q: Who decides the tier to use?
A: Architecture governance with business input.

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