The Architect’s Path (Part 2 - Bookshelf)
Growing an architect is different from growing a system. This bookshelf will help.
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Growing an architect is different from growing a system. This bookshelf will help.
Architecture isn’t linear but we can overlay a useful path for architects to follow.
A better brush won’t make you a Leonardo.
Maps don’t show every tree. And that’s OK.
Architecture isn’t binary.
A black box isn’t good enough for architects. They want to know how it’s wired together.
It’s hard to argue about volume in a two-dimensional space.
They let others do the blueprints.
Conscious decision making is a major step towards better architecture.
Good platforms are like fruit salads. But some people will want to pick out just their favorite fruit.
Many architects consider lock-in their archenemy. But it’s rarely that simple.
Giving features rigid names can set a frame of mind that hinders incremental value delivery.
Architecture diagrams tend to show all the individual parts rather than illustrating the system’s key purpose. Inverting this not only produces more expressive diagrams, it also improves decision making.
The key mechanism to tackle ever increasing complexity is abstraction, such as frameworks or interfaces. Some things, however, can’t be abstracted away.
Enterprise IT is routinely plagued by excessive complexity. It’s almost like it’s subject to the Second Law of Thermodynamics, which concludes that the entropy in a system can never decrease.
For governance to remain effective in a high-velocity environment, it needs to be automated. Surprisingly, it also produces more reliable results.
How do you explain the value of architecture to business stakeholders? Deferring to the Nobel-prize winning economists Black and Scholes can work surprisingly well.
Organizational change is typically slower than technical change and will therefore hold back your cloud journey’s value creation.
When making cloud enterprise ready, be careful not to throw the cloud baby out with the enterprise bathwater.
Enterprises can’t avoid hybrid cloud. Here are eight ways to get there.
Multi cloud means different things to different people. A decision model helps bust the buzzwords and show the options clearly.
A lot of modern cloud technology leverages containers. However, a non-trivial portion of enterprise applications don’t run easily in containers. The answer to this conundrum lies in taking a step back and asking a more fundamental questi...
Weaving two threads into a single presentation.
Weaving multiple threads into a single presentation.
How to overcome the first curse of speaking: linearity.
A list of ingredients doesn’t make a recipe. You need to know the right dosage.
Ethos, Logos, and Pathos have to be built-in, not tacked on.
Or at least be better prepared for being wrong.
Doing the exact same thing twice is a wasted opportunity.
What’s better than talking to CTOs? Listening to CTOs! That’s what our CTO Round Table is for.
CTOs and chief architects are busy people. But if you bring value, they will have time for you.
When buying a software or hardware product for your enterprise, the future product roadmap is as much a consideration as the current product state. However, this is where some vendors play games with their customers.
Enterprise IT generally follows a “buy over build” strategy because in most cases it yields lower risk and better economics than doing it yourself. But there are a few things that you should keep to yourself.
Slow Chaos isn’t Order.
Finding business value without the business is going to be difficult.
Hitting the wall faster is unlikely to do you any good.
Agile methods and architecture both thrive in times of uncertainty.
More steering committees don’t necessarily lead to better decisions.
Three plus one questions you should ask before you place trust in someone offering you advice.
A classic movie recipe has a seemingly law-abiding person hire someone from the underworld to do unpleasant work for them. And it all goes predictably and awfully wrong. Don’t let the same happen in your IT transformation!
When shifting gears, both a car and an organization need a clutch. But careful, it can be a grinder!
Everyone does the right thing, yet nothing much gets done. How to break self-reinforcing bad habits.