Eight Architecture Lessons from History
• SEI Report
Publisher
Software Engineering Institute
Topic or Tag
Abstract
Historians are known for their reluctance to use the past to predict the future. It's often possible to predict change a few years forward, but after that new developments start to interact, and even the most informed person can't speculate past these events with any hope of accuracy. However, historians do argue that, while the past can't predict, it does provide an "essential guide" to understanding the future.
It has been about 40 years since the term 'Architecture' was introduced in the computer/information technology context. What does 40 years of history offer in terms of lessons learnt and future guidance? More importantly, what lessons can IT architecture learn from some of its peer fields i.e. Military, Civil, Finance, Mathematics, Astronomy, Social and Medical. The answer: quite a bit.
To put in context, Civil, Finance and Military fields command a combined history of more than five millenniums. Knowledge of history is quite essential in fields like finance, military, law and diplomacy. As we will see in this article, knowledge of history can be quite important for IT as well.
Cite This SEI Report
Software Engineering Institute (2004, January 1). Eight Architecture Lessons from History. Retrieved October 9, 2026, from https://www.sei.cmu.edu/library/eight-architecture-lessons-from-history/.
@techreport{Citekey_2004,
author={Software Engineering Institute},
title={Eight Architecture Lessons from History},
month={Jan},
year={2004},
institution={Software Engineering Institute, Carnegie Mellon University},
url={https://www.sei.cmu.edu/library/eight-architecture-lessons-from-history/},
note={Accessed: 2026-Oct-9}
}
Software Engineering Institute. "Eight Architecture Lessons from History." Software Engineering Institute, Carnegie Mellon University. Software Engineering Institute, January 1, 2004. https://www.sei.cmu.edu/library/eight-architecture-lessons-from-history/.
Software Engineering Institute, "Eight Architecture Lessons from History," Software Engineering Institute, Carnegie Mellon University. Software Engineering Institute, 1-Jan-2004 [Online]. Available: https://www.sei.cmu.edu/library/eight-architecture-lessons-from-history/. [Accessed: 9-Oct-2026].
Software Engineering Institute. "Eight Architecture Lessons from History." Software Engineering Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, Software Engineering Institute, 1 Jan. 2004. https://www.sei.cmu.edu/library/eight-architecture-lessons-from-history/. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.
Software Engineering Institute. Eight Architecture Lessons from History. Software Engineering Institute. 2004. https://www.sei.cmu.edu/library/eight-architecture-lessons-from-history/