2 Days: Software architecture for developers

This 2-day workshop will give you an introduction to a pragmatic and practical approach to software architecture; including technical leadership, communication and how to balance up front design with agile approaches.

Day 1

Introduction

Architecture

• What is software architecture?
• Architecture vs design
• The importance of software architecture

Architectural drivers

• Requirements
• Quality attributes
• Constraints
• Principles
• Agility

Software design exercise

• Software design exercise
• Design exercise review #1

Architects

• A definition of the software architecture role
• Technical leadership and the different leadership styles
• Technical skills
• Soft skills
• Software architecture and coding

Visualising software architecture

• Design exercise review #2
• Diagramming anti-patterns and typical problems
• The "model-code gap"

Discussion, questions and wrap-up

Day 2

C4 model - core diagrams

• Abstractions and creating a shared vocabulary with a ubiquitous language
• An overview of the C4 model
• Notation and tips for better diagrams
• System Context diagrams
• Container diagrams
• Component diagrams

Software design exercise

• Software design exercise
• Design exercise review #3

C4 model - supplementary diagrams

• C4 and UML
• System Landscape diagrams
• Dynamic diagrams
• Deployment diagrams
• Frequently asked questions

Documenting software architecture

• The importance of documentation
• Writing lightweight supplementary documentation using a "software guidebook" or arc42
• Architecture decision records

Tooling

• Diagrams vs models
• Extracting software architecture information from code and "architecturally-evident coding styles"

Software architecture in the delivery process

• Quantifying and prioritising risk
• Identifying risk with risk-storming
• Design exercise review #4
• Waterfall, RUP, agile, etc
• The conflict between architecture and agile
• Approaching software architecture in a pragmatic, lightweight way
• How much up front design is enough?

Discussion, questions and wrap-up