Effective Software Architecture

Acknowledgments xi

About the Author xii

Introduction xiii



Chapter 1: Software Architecture 1

Fundamental Organization 2

Of a System 4

Embodied in Its Components 5

Their Relationships to Each Other 7

Their Relationships to the Environment 9

Principles Governing Its Design 11

And Evolution 14

Summary 16



Chapter 2: Context 17

Concepts 17

Dependability 19

Architecturally Significant Requirements 21

Product Families 23

One Product, Multiple Platforms 24

Product Lines 25

Product Suites 27

Cross-Platform Platforms 28

Building Platforms 30

Standards 32

Summary 34



Chapter 3: Change 35

Stages of Change 36

Types of Change 37

Product-Driven Change 38

Technology-Driven Change 41

Simplicity 43

Investment Mindset 46

Incremental Delivery 50

Architectural Evolution 52

Summary 55



Chapter 4: Process 57

Document the System 58

Work Toward a Vision 61

Write Change Proposals 62

Maintain a Backlog 64

Consider Alternatives 66

Not Doing Things 70

Urgent versus Important 70

Redocument the System 71

Summary 72



Chapter 5: Design 75

How Architecture Accelerates Design 76

How Design Forces Architectural Evolution 79

Decomposition 81

Composition 82

Composition and Platforms 84

Incrementalism 85

Parallelism 86

Organizational Structure 87

Work in the Open 88

Giving Up 91

Done 92

Summary 93



Chapter 6: Decisions 95

Will More Information Help? 96

What's Happening in the Meantime? 98

How Many Decisions Are in Play? 99

What's the Cost of Not Doing It? 100

Can I Live with This Change? 102

What Is the Cost of Getting This Wrong? 104

How Much More Certain Can I Be? 105

Is This My Decision to Make? 106

Am I Aligned? 108

Can I Document It? 109

Summary 110



Chapter 7: Practices 113

Backlog 114

Catalogs 118

Templates 119

Reviews 122

Status 125

Velocity 127

Thinking 130

Summary 132



Chapter 8: Communication 133

Mental Models 134

Writing 136

Talking 139

Information Architecture 142

Naming Things 147

Dictionaries 150

Listening 152

Summary 154



Chapter 9: The Architecture Team 157

Specialization 158

Structure 160

Leadership 165

Responsibility 166

Talent 169

Diversity 170

Culture 171

Gathering 173

Seminars and Summits 174

Summary 175



Chapter 10: The Product Team 177

Working with Development Methodologies 178

Working with Product Management 180

Helping Out 184

Other Outcomes 186

Setting Boundaries 187

Working with User Experience 188

Working with Program Management 190

Working with Engineering 192

Following Through 195

Working with Testing 197

Working with Operations 200

Summary 203



Conclusion 205



References 211

Index 213