Architecture Spikes
Erik Philippus - july 2009

The holy grail of scrum is the delivery of working software within a short time frame. This exclusive focus on functionality could easily turn a project into a ‘Feature Factory’, with the risk of accumulating architectural deficiencies and technical debt that has an impact on performance of the software and overall product quality. This risk can be mitigated by incorporation of a sound architectural basis for the system under development. A more or less accepted practice within the agile community to address architectural issues is the architecture spike. In most cases, however, the initial architecture spike doesn't give an answer to the pressing question: “what are in the longer term the true value-adding aspects of the software system, apart from the tangible and potentially shippable features?” In this article, the architecture spike is presented as the ideal approach to address critical product quality attributes, which will promote the delivery of real customer value.

The recent emergence of agile methods has shaken the foundation of the ivory tower architecture. A new breed of architects called Agile Architects is stepping up.
Architecture has always been controversial in the agile community. Should design be done up front, how much, and when does architecture turn into BDUF, the big bad wolf of agile programming? The agilists are right to some extend: most traditional architecture processes are heavy weight, long-winded and time-consuming. In circles of architects, however, agile methods are perceived as architecturally weak, disconnected from the realities of delivering large, multidisciplinary software-intensive systems in complex environments. Agile Architecting is an attempt to combine the best of both worlds, as further outlined in this article.

The table below lists a number of short articles appeared in a column in the Dutch magazine 'Bits & Chips. Most of the articles are dealing with the relationship between Agile and Architecture, with a pragmatic view from different angles.

• Op de rand van de chaos
• De overeenkomst tussen planologie en architectuur
• Rijkswaterstaat architectuur
• Waar is de architect gebleven?
• De agile parachute
• Een juiste diagnose
• Het huwelijk tussen agile en architectuur
• Zin en onzin van het lagen model
• Het belang van een informeel netwerk

Agile Architecting

Last Update: 10-07-2010