Step 2 — SW Architectural Design

Once the requirements are in place, add a static architecture diagram that names:

• the SEooC

• its components, and

• its units

This PlantUML Diagram represents the targetted architecture. During the build process every PlantUML diagram will be parsed and checked for consistency with the implemented architecture / design. To enable this certain rules and guidelines have to be followed while implementing the architecture diagram.

The conventions to define those architectural elements are displayed in the following example.

static_design.puml

@startuml

' The package alias must match the dependable_element target name.
package "my_element" as my_element <<SEooC>> {
    component "MyComponent" as MyComponent <<component>> {
        component "MyUnit" as MyUnit <<unit>>
    }
}

@enduml

BUILD

load(
    "@score_tooling//bazel/rules/rules_score:rules_score.bzl",
    "architectural_design",
)

architectural_design(
    name = "my_arch",
    static = ["docs/static_design.puml"],
)

After designing the target architecture in plantuml the real architecture has to be implemented in Bazel. Therefore following bazel rules are available:

load(
    "@score_tooling//bazel/rules/rules_score:rules_score.bzl",
    "component",
    "dependable_element",
    "unit",
)

dependable_element(
    name = "my_element",
    ...
    architectural_design = [":my_arch"],
    components = [":MyComponent"],
    requirements = [":feature_requirements"],
    ...
)

   unit(
    name = "MyUnit",
    implementation = [],
    unit_design = [],
    tests = [],
)

component(
    name = "MyComponent",
    components = [":MyUnit"],
    requirements = [],
    tests = [],
)

Once the architecture is in place, the build of the dependable element parses the PlantUML diagram and validates it against the Bazel model. It verifies element names, structural hierarchy, and consistency between the declared diagram and the implemented architecture.

→ Full guide: Architectural Design