Comments on: Why We Need Architects (and Architecture) on Agile Projects

By: Software Development Linkopedia December 2013

Software Development Linkopedia December 2013 — Wed, 11 Dec 2013 14:56:55 +0000

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By: Andy Miles

Andy Miles — Sat, 07 Dec 2013 17:21:45 +0000

Adam is right: you must pay attention to architecture on any project. Adam is wrong: there are far too many people who believe architecture can just happen. I see it and read about it everywhere. Its not just about adding value with working code; the code has to be maintainable (unless the goal is a throwaway). We must work harder to educate and communicate how to apply techniques correctly, because far to many people dive inwithout thinking.

By: Adam Sroka

Adam Sroka — Fri, 06 Dec 2013 15:28:20 +0000

“Some people think that software architecture should simply emerge and doesn’t require ongoing attention.”

No, they don’t. Emergent architecture is not about letting stuff happen without paying attention. Quite the opposite.

The idea of emergent architecture is to build the simplest solution that solves the customer’s problem. One that is thoroughly tested, clearly written, and contains a minimal number of parts. To do that we need to avoid, as long as possible, pulling in dependencies that we don’t need at this exact moment.

Every architectural decision you make today limits your options tomorrow. Decisions that effect the architecture will arise, but we defer them to the last responsible moment. The last responsible moment is the moment when not making a decision becomes a decision (e.g. if I don’t pull in the web framework now I will have to write it myself.)