What is used to support architectural decisions?

• A. Prototyping and modeling
• B. Coding
• C. Documentation
• D. Requirements gathering

Answer: (A)

Prototyping and modeling enable you to explore and validate architectural options before committing to a design. A prototype lets you experiment with critical decisions—such as how components will interact, how data will flow, or how the system will perform under load—without building the full system. Modeling provides visual representations of the architecture, showing components, interfaces, and their interactions, which helps stakeholders understand trade-offs, dependencies, and risks. Together, they produce tangible evidence to guide choices and reduce surprises later in development.

Coding focuses on implementing a chosen solution, not comparing architectural paths. Documentation records decisions and details after the fact, but doesn’t actively test or validate different architectures. Requirements gathering helps define what the system must do, yet it doesn’t directly assess how well a given architectural approach will meet those needs.