Modelling SCS based architecture

[carlo-mr]

Hi,

I'm currently evaluating how to document a SCS based portal application and would like to know your experiences and ideas about it.

So basically we currently have one portal that is accessed by the customer. It consist of a handful of independent SCS which are integrated via a lightweight portal framework.

My Idea was to include the portal framework as a softwareSystem which "integrates" all the SCSs which are softwareSystems themselves. Just like the services example.

`
workspace {

model {
    user = person "User" "A user of the portal"
    portal = softwareSystem "Portal" "Portal"
    
    scs1 = softwareSystem "SCS 1" {
        scs1ui = container "UI"
        scs1be = container "Backend"
        scs1db = container "DB"
    }
    scs2 = softwareSystem "SCS 2" {
        scs2ui = container "UI"
        scs2be = container "Backend"
        scs2db = container "DB"
    }
    
    user -> portal "Uses"
    
    portal -> scs1ui "integrates"
    portal -> scs2ui "integrates"
}

views {
    systemContext portal "SystemContext" {
        include *
        autoLayout
    }
}

}
`

I don't like about that approach that the portal becomes a central part of the overall system. But especially when talking with business / non-technical people it helps to convey how the system works, better than if the user would directly "use" the SCS-ui container.

Thinking about it, it could also just be a deployment detail. E.g. sometimes an SCS is accessed standalone, but in some scenario the access happens through the portal

On the other hand if I do not add the portal as softwareSystem I don't know how to create a big picture as I don't know which element to target for that view.

Does anyone have / had similar thoughts on this?

Kind regards,
Carlo