The document discusses the importance of rationale in defining a software system's architecture, but notes that rationale is often unspecified and inaccessible. It proposes a simple model for capturing rationales as part of an architecture specification by attaching them to architectural elements. A design rationale explicitly lists decisions made during the design process and the reasons behind them, with the goal of supporting designers. Software design is an iterative process that includes requirements, architecture, and implementation phases, and the architecture plays a vital role in bridging rationale and design.