The Importance of Software Architecture

An architecture will inhibit or enable a system's driving quality attributes.
The decisions made in an architecture allow you to reason about and manage change as the system evolves.
The analysis of an architecture enables early prediction of a system's qualities.
A documented architecture enhances communication among stakeholders.
The architecture is a carrier of the earliest and hence most fundamental, hardest to change design decisions.
An architecture defines a set of constraints on subsequent implementation.
The architecture influences the structure of an organization, an vice versa.
An architecture can provide the basis for evolutionary, or even throwaway, prototyping.
An architecture is the key artifact that allows the architect and the project manager to reason about cost and schedule.
An architecture can be created as transferable, reusable model that forms the heart of a product line.
Architecture-centric development focuses attention on the assembly of components, rather than simply on their creation.
By restricting design alternatives, architecture channels the creativity of developers, reducing design and system complexity.
An architecture can be foundation for training a new team member.

References

Designing Software Architectures: A Practical Approach SECOND EDITION / Rick Kazman