Objectives

So you wanna be an architect...

... but you're not sure what architecture means

... but you're not sure what an architect does

... but you don't want to lose the respect of your developer friends & teammates (who are convinced that "architect" is Latin for "cannot code anymore")

Definition

ar·chi·tec·ture

"áarki tèkchər", noun

building design: the art and science of designing and constructing buildings

building style: a style or fashion of building, especially one that is typical of a period of history or of a particular place

structure of computer system: the design, structure, and behavior of a computer system, microprocessor, or system program, including the characteristics of individual components and how they interact

Answer

What do we expect of a "good" architecture?

"--ities": Integrity, Simplicity, Reliability, Extensibility, Maintainability, Modularity, Recoverability, Composability, Parsimony, Scalability, Security, Performability, Longevity

Answer

What do we expect of a "good" architecture?

Make it easy for developers to make "right" decisions

where "right" => "right for this project or system"

in other words, enable "correctness by default"

developers using our architecture "fall naturally into the pit of success"

Answer

In other words, a (software) architecture is just a set of answers to questions that developers will ask every day

Strategy

"The core of strategy work is always the same: discovering the critical factors in a situation and designing a way of coordinating and focusing actions to deal with those factors. ... A good strategy honestly acknowledges the challenges being faced and provides an approach to overcoming them. ... bad strategy covers up its failure to guide by embracing the language of broad goals, ambition, vision, and values."

Strategy

In the business world, strategy is made up of:

vision

what is our desired end state?

mission

what gets us there?

execution

how do we get there?

Strategy

Strategy to architecture

vision

what is our desired end state?

mission

what gets us there?

execution

how do we get there?

technology choices

structure choices

runtime choices

Strategy

What makes up a good strategy/architecture?

a set of principles that the developers will follow (most of the time)

should be extensive, but not comprehensive (cover the "80" in 80/20)

nothing is set in stone (heuristics, not algorithms)

prescriptive, not descriptive (focus on what to do, not what it looks like)

provide signposts, not guard rails

Simple Rules

What are "simple rules"?

decision-making tools

heuristics to govern behavior

expression of intent and direction

Simple Rules

Simple rules are...

limited to a handful in number

keeping them few in number forces you to focus on what matters most

tailored specifically to the problem at hand

and to the people who will need them

Simple Rules

Simple rules are...

apply to well-defined activity or decisions

so as to avoid being too broad, general or abstract

provide clear guidance but allow for deviation

leaves room to exercise creativity and handle unanticipated situations

Summary

Summary

architecture is a set of answers to questions developers ask every day; in essence, a strategy

the best strategies are made up of core principles expressed as simple rules

Credentials

Who is this guy?

Architect, Engineering Manager/Leader, "force multiplier"

Principal -- Neward & Associates

http://www.newardassociates.com

Educative (http://educative.io) Author

Performance Management for Engineering Managers

Author

Professional F# 2.0 (w/Erickson, et al; Wrox, 2010)

Effective Enterprise Java (Addison-Wesley, 2004)

SSCLI Essentials (w/Stutz, et al; OReilly, 2003)

Server-Based Java Programming (Manning, 2000)