Democratising Software Architecture

Today’s mainstream acceptance of Agile+DevOps as the preferred way of working once again raises questions of what architecture work is and who does it. It simultaneously challenges much of our previously accepted wisdom, preferring architecture to be a “shared commons” across the development organisation, while demanding a sophisticated level of software architecture practice to deliver on the promises of Agile+DevOps.

One way of describing this situation is the need to “democratise” software architecture so it becomes a shared responsibility rather than a centralised impediment to rapid delivery. In this talk we’ll examine the challenges of software architecture in today’s modern distributed teams and ask how we might make the architecture of their systems a shared responsibility to allow them to achieve the software architecture that they need at the speed that they need it.

Transcript

1. Democratising
   Software Architecture
   Eoin Woods
   Endava
   @eoinwoodz
   ICSA 2019, Hamburg, March 2019
   1
   

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2. Eoin Woods
   • Endava’s CTO, based in London
   • 10+ years in product dev - Bull, Sybase, InterTrust
   • 10 years in capital markets applications - UBS and BGI
   • Software engineer, then architect, now CTO
   • Software engineer in theory & practice (BSc, MSc, recently PhD)
   • Author, editor, speaker, community guy
   

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3. 3
   DISCLAIMER
   These are my views based on my experience
   in the domains I have worked in.
   Others may differ in their views !
   

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4. EVOLVING SOFTWARE ARCHITECTURE
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5. 5 ages of software Systems
   Intelligent
   Connected
   (2020s)
   Internet
   is the System
   (2010s)
   Internet
   Connected
   (2000s)
   Distributed
   Monoliths
   (1990s)
   Monolithic
   (1980s)
   

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6. Architecture has changed too
   Computing Era Architecture Concern
   Monolithic Era => Structuring programs
   Distributed Monoliths Era => Architecture emerges
   Internet-Connected Era => Quality properties
   Internet-is-the-System Era => Architecture at speed
   Intelligent Connected Era => … ?
   

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7. Historical Context
   • Central small group
   • Organisation of large pieces
   • Relatively static connections
   • Largely completed before
   implementation
   • Structures, qualities,
   stakeholders, technology choices
   7
   https://donmaclennan.com/
   

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8. What has changed?
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   FLUID
   EVOLVING
   ARCHITECTURE
   DevOps
   Microservices
   Cloud
   Agile
   

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9. What is the problem?
   9
   ? ?
   !!
   ?
   !!
   !! ? !!
   

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10. Our traditional model is of less value
    • Constant evolution => less ”certainty” early in lifecycle
    • Less decided early in lifecycle =>
    less value in thorough ”up front” architecture
    10
    • Autonomous teams => independent activity
    • Independent activity => constant parallel decision making
    • Constant decisions => architect overload => blocks progress
    

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11. Is architecture still needed?
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    • Difficult quality attributes
    • Stakeholders don’t go away
    • Still have tradeoffs
    • Cross cutting concerns across
    many independent elements
    • BUT traditional ”structural”
    focus may need to change
    Cross-Cutting Concerns
    Tradeoffs
    Stakeholders
    Quality
    Attributes
    Yes!
    

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12. WHAT PRACTITIONERS DO
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13. Software Architecture in Practice
    • Empowered cross-functional teams
    • Less “architects” more “engineers”
    • Lightweight description – C4, ADRs
    • Code Analysis – dependency visibility
    • Runtime Analysis – dependency visibility, trends
    • Informal description – Wiki, PowerPoint, Visio
    • Modelling – occasional use of UML and Archimate
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14. C4 Model
    • Simon Brown’s accessible 4-view
    model for software architecture
    • Context
    • Containers
    • Component
    • Code (class diagram - optional)
    • Optional Landscape, Dynamic
    and Deployment views
    • Structurizr tool
    • Widely recognized in industry
    14
    c4model.com
    

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15. Architecture Decision Records
    •
    Old idea “rediscovered” by
    Michael Nygard in 2011
    •
    Simple textual decision records
    using templates
    •
    Stored with the code
    •
    Nygard’s form:
    •
    Title, Status, Context, Decision &
    Consequences
    15
    thinkrelevance.com/blog/2011/11/15/documenting-architecture-decisions
    github.com/joelparkerhenderson/architecture_decision_record
    

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16. Code Analysis
    • Generally static code analysis
    • Open source tools dominate
    • SonarQube in particular
    • “Code doesn’t lie”
    • Main architectural aspect is
    dependency analysis
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17. Runtime Analysis
    • Response to dynamic nature of
    microservices
    • Distributed monitoring & tracing
    • Jaeger, Zipkin
    • Prometheus + Grafana
    • Log aggregation & analysis - ELK
    • AppDynamics & NewRelic
    • “Production is reality”
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18. Visio, PowerPoint, Wiki, …
    • Where most ADs end up
    • Quality varies from useless to
    very valuable
    • Familiar & highly accessible
    • Usually custom syntax and
    semantics
    • Interpretation, precision and
    consistency often limited
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19. Modelling: UML and Archimate
    • Rare choice today
    • Their genericity is a difficulty
    • UML good base for a DSL … but
    significant investment needed
    • Archimate useful for EA but not
    really solution or software arch
    • Tools can get in the way
    • Can actually be a
    communication barrier
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20. A NEW APPROACH
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21. 21
    Architecture is a skill not a role
    Principles, styles & patterns over structures
    Delegate & share wherever possible
    ”Little and often” (and adapt)
    Aim for “shared commons”
    Stream of decisions, not “one off” architecture
    Architecture
    Work in the
    New World
    

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22. 22
    Architecture work in every sprint
    Decisions, principles, styles, patterns
    Deliver decisions as they are needed
    Form an inclusive architecture group
    Practical tests to validate architecture work
    Keep the architecture ”close to the code”
    Key
    Practices
    

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23. 23
    RDCA
    (Risk & Cost
    Driven
    Architecture)
    Eltjo Poort, CGI
    eltjopoort.nl
    

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24. Architecturally Evident Code
    • George Fairbanks
    • Code reflects the architecture
    • Names, structures line up
    • Changes code packaging
    • Can affect testing
    • Often “messes up” architecture!
    • Can be hard to check
    • ArchUnit
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25. Common Problems
    • Sharing and managing architecture information (AKM)
    • Lack of artefacts => misunderstanding, knowledge loss
    • Understanding the system-wide view
    • Resistance to any design work (“we’re agile”)
    • Desire for a ”complete” architecture up front
    • Enterprise architects (!)
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26. FOR RESEARCH
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27. Research vs Practice Disconnection
    RESEARCH PRACTICE
    Models and theories Technologies, patterns, code
    Architecture as separate activity Architecture as dev activity
    Completed architecture Just enough architecture
    Solving idealised problems Focus on today’s delivery
    Papers, academic conferences Github, blogs, conferences
    Validation via small survey Validation by production operation
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28. Some Suggestions
    WHILE PLANNING WHILE RESEARCHING
    Link to industry projects Prioritise flow of change to
    production
    Understand practice through OSS Codify ideas in code, patterns,
    templates
    Watch industry event topics* Be sensitive to adoption effort vs
    validation level
    Attend industry events* Be aware of standard tools
    Consider motivation & validation
    28
    * QCON, SATURN, DevTernity, JAX, NDC, …
    

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29. TO CONCLUDE
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30. Software development is changing:
    so will software architecture
    30
    Agile + DevOps
    change how we WORK
    Cloud + Containers
    change how we BUILD
    Less “Upfront” Architecture
    Quality Attributes, Tradeoffs, Stakeholders
    Flow Of Decisions & Guidance
    Changes to Architect’s Work
    Changes to Architect Training
    

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31. Architect: From Purveyor of Wisdom …
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32. … to Trusted Leader and Advisor
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33. Eoin Woods
    Endava
    eoin.woods@endava.com
    @eoinwoodz
    33
    THANK YOU …
    

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