The term “Emergent Architecture” is often defined as the aggregation or balance between Intentional Architecture and Emergent Design. Here, the former is the closest we get to an actual Target Architecture, as it’s the desired, defined and current target state of the architecture which the Developers are working towards–while the latter is the technical basis that enables Developers to evolve the product based on user needs, technical learnings and other types of feedback–i.e., the changes to be made to the Intentional Architecture.

For an architecture to successfully be emergent, we need Architects (i.e., Developers) who accept that the state of the architecture is always a temporary one, and that it represents our latest intention. Furthermore, Architects, too, like many other roles before them, must embrace change, as the Emergent Design will inevitably lead to alterations of the Intentional Architecture–and that it’s not a sign of failure, but of success.