In the Agile world, software architecture is about making design decisions with just enough anticipation. Too much anticipation leads to overly heavy architectural constructs that may never be used (YAGNI); too little anticipation leads to expensive refactoring and potentially fatal build-up of technical debt. This session presents an approach for Agile architecture roadmapping with just enough anticipation.
The approach consists of principles and practices that help address questions like
* How do we anticipate and embrace changes in our solution’s environment?
* What are good roadmapping strategies, and how do organizations choose the right strategy in a particular context?
* Should we do “up-front” architecting and, if so, how much?
* How can we organize architectural decision making in Agile teams?
* What tools should architects use to achieve “just enough” anticipation?
It presents experiences from software architects who have used this approach in practice in multiple organizations. Their experiences show more realistic stakeholder expectations and better prioritization of required architectural improvements. This presentation is based on Risk- and Cost-Driven Architecture (RCDA), an approach developed by CGI that has proven to support solution architects globally in a lean and Agile manner. RCDA is a recognized architecture method in The Open Group’s architect certification program.
Video producer: http://www.sei.cmu.edu/saturn/