Book Image

Becoming an Agile Software Architect

By : Rajesh R V
Book Image

Becoming an Agile Software Architect

By: Rajesh R V

Overview of this book

Many organizations have embraced Agile methodologies to transform their ability to rapidly respond to constantly changing customer demands. However, in this melee, many enterprises often neglect to invest in architects by presuming architecture is not an intrinsic element of Agile software development. Since the role of an architect is not pre-defined in Agile, many organizations struggle to position architects, often resulting in friction with other roles or a failure to provide a clear learning path for architects to be productive. This book guides architects and organizations through new Agile ways of incrementally developing the architecture for delivering an uninterrupted, continuous flow of values that meets customer needs. You'll explore various aspects of Agile architecture and how it differs from traditional architecture. The book later covers Agile architects' responsibilities and how architects can add significant value by positioning themselves appropriately in the Agile flow of work. Through examples, you'll also learn concepts such as architectural decision backlog,the last responsible moment, value delivery, architecting for change, DevOps, and evolutionary collaboration. By the end of this Agile book, you'll be able to operate as an architect in Agile development initiatives and successfully architect reliable software systems.
Table of Contents (19 chapters)
1
Section 1: Understanding Architecture in the Agile World
Free Chapter
2
Chapter 1: Looking through the Agile Architect's Lens
4
Section 2: Transformation of Architect Roles in Agile
8
Section 3: Essential Knowledge to Become a Successful Agile Architect
15
Section 4: Personality Traits and Organizational Influence

Summary

The playing field for architects has been challenged severely due to the mismatch between traditional ways of architecting and Agile architecture. Elements of the ivory tower, astronauts, and policing behaviors compounded with perceptions and economic considerations added fuel to the no-architect movement that surfaced with Agile software development. As we learned, it is vitally important to have dedicated or designated architects in Agile teams.

While collaboration is an extreme necessity, Agile architects must be substantially and equally strong in technology, domain, leadership, and strategy. The conventional metaphors of a construction architect to a gardener, elevator, sous chef, and interior designer need a radical transformation. The ability to know the unknowns, be prepared to adapt, pave the way for developers, prioritize the technical backlog, timing architecture decisions, and have a solution mindset with system thinking are paramount for Agile architects.

...