Design Artifact

A Design Artifact is a documented artifact that captures design elements, design decisions, and design rationale created during design processes.

• AKA: Design Deliverable, Design Work Product, Design Output, Design Documentation Artifact.
• Context:
  • It can typically convey Design Intent through design representation.
  • It can typically document Design Choice through decision documentation.
  • It can typically express Design Constraint through constraint specification.
  • It can typically capture Design Evolution through version history.
  • It can typically enable Design Communication through stakeholder presentation.
  • ...
  • It can often include Design Diagram through visual representation.
  • It can often contain Design Specification through detailed description.
  • It can often present Design Alternative through option analysis.
  • It can often establish Design Standard through standard documentation.
  • ...
  • It can range from being a Conceptual Design Artifact to being a Detailed Design Artifact, depending on its design abstraction level.
  • It can range from being a Formal Design Artifact to being an Informal Design Artifact, depending on its design formality degree.
  • It can range from being a Static Design Artifact to being a Dynamic Design Artifact, depending on its design evolution rate.
  • It can range from being a Textual Design Artifact to being a Visual Design Artifact, depending on its design representation format.
  • It can range from being a Single-Purpose Design Artifact to being a Multi-Purpose Design Artifact, depending on its design usage scope.
  • ...
  • It can integrate with Requirements Artifact for requirement alignment.
  • It can connect to Implementation Artifact for design realization.
  • It can interface with Review Process for design validation.
  • It can communicate with Project Repository for artifact management.
  • It can synchronize with Version Control System for change tracking.
  • ...
• Example(s):
  • Document Design Artifacts, such as:
    • Design Documents, such as:
      • Software Design Document for software design capture.
      • System Design Document for system design capture.
    • Design Specifications, such as:
      • Interface Design Specification for interface definition.
      • Database Design Specification for database schema.
  • Visual Design Artifacts, such as:
    • Design Diagrams, such as:
      • Architecture Diagram for architectural visualization.
      • UML Diagram for object-oriented design.
    • Design Mockups, such as:
      • User Interface Mockup for UI design preview.
      • System Layout Mockup for physical design.
  • Decision Design Artifacts, such as:
    • Architecture Decision Record for architectural choice.
    • Design Trade-off Analysis for alternative evaluation.
  • ...
• Counter-Example(s):
  • Implementation Code, which realizes design decisions rather than documenting them.
  • Test Result, which validates design implementation rather than capturing design intent.
  • User Feedback, which evaluates design outcome rather than documenting design process.
• See: Documented Artifact, Design Document, Architecture Artifact, Engineering Artifact, Technical Artifact, Software Artifact, System Artifact.

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