Evolving Architectures – Part VII – Parallel
(This is part seven of a series. You might want to check the previous parts first) Parallel and Simplification are the yin and yang of architecture evolution. Simplification, as mentioned previously, is about having foresight and thus provides for,relatively, easy evolution (i.e. architectural additions and not changes). Parallel is about reacting to changes in requirements as they come (no...
Read MoreEvolving Architectures – Part VI – Simplification
[Edited: added explanation of the difference between upfront design with iterative implementation and Simplification] The previous installment in the series talked about leaps as a technique to change the architecture. Leaps are more of a revolution than an evolution and even though they are sometimes needed evolving an architecture is the more interesting topic. This and the next post deal...
Read MoreEvolving Architectures – Part V – Leaps
When talking about “evolving architectures” a “leap” is one of the worst things that can happen. In the previous installment in this series I defined Kent Beck’s “Leap” design strategy in the context of Software architecture as “Leap – is for when you know where you’re heading and you can afford to stop everything until the new way is in...
Read MoreEvolving Architectures – Part IV – Design mechanics
If we want to evolve architectures or change an existing architecture in general, for that matter, it is important to understand design mechanics. I recently attended a seminar with Kent Beck that talked about “responsive design”, where he provided a good definition for 5 strategies or types of design mechanics*: Leap Parallel Simplification Stepping Stone “Just Do...
Read MoreWho needs an architect anyway?
Not all projects need architects. There, I’ve said it. Not all projects need architects and I am not talking here just about trivial projects. There are cases (maybe even many cases) where you can get by with what I call “off-the-shelf” architecture – maybe with a few adjustments that any master developer (i.e. seasoned and experienced developer) can handle. For instance a...
Read MoreEvolving Architectures – Part III starting out
Before we talk about the what/how let’s do a quick recap on the why we’re here: Architecture is important to software projects Architecture and agile have some conflicting forces that needs to be reconciled (e.g. up-front work, hard to change vs. delivering business value quickly and embracing change) design can be emergent but architectures can’t and must be grown...
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