the agile architect - agile india 2016

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© 2016 IHS @AGILECHRISYYC

Chris Edwards P.Eng., Senior [email protected] @AgileChrisYYC

THE AGILE ARCHITECT

A Case Study in Transformational Leadership

MARCH 2016

mailto:[email protected]

2© 2016 IHS @AGILECHRISYYC

disclaimer:this is not a talk about

architecture

The Agile Architect / March 2016


what is the role of anarchitect in an agile

organization?



your mileagemay vary


© 2016 IHS @AGILECHRISYYC 5


Setting the Stage • 5 teams, 5-9 each (including QA)

• Mix of Scrum/Kanban/Scrumban

• Thick Client

• C++

• Mature Codebase

• Recently Adopted Agile

• Major Project – Client / Server


The best architectures, requirements, and designs

emerge from self-organizing teams.


Agile Manifesto


ArchitectureApproach 1:Laissez Faire




HELP!!!



Build projects around motivated individuals. Give them the

environment and support they need, and trust them to get the job done.

Agile Manifesto



empowerment is morethan just taking yourhands off the wheel



how do we incorporatean architect…

without sacrificing agile values?


Wanted to avoid this:The Agile Architect / March 2016

Requirements

Design

Code

Test

Deploy


And this:The Agile Architect / March 2016

cliparthut.com


ArchitectureApproach 2:The Architecture Scout




Architecture by Example

”“



Too many classes makes the system too complex!

Big classes make the

system unmaintainable!



WORK HARDER!



what if thearchitect isWRONG?



how do you knowif the architect

is WRONG?



I thought you knewsomething I didn’t

”“



architect is a leadership role



xkcd.com



Image Source: worklifematters.netSpotify Engineering Videos



how do I serve the teams without telling

them what to do?


Intent Based Leadership


Rob van Hilten, Flickr



Don’t move information to authority,

move authority to the information

”“David Marquet



Image Source: worklifematters.net



two pillars that need to be in place: the technical competence …. and organization clarity.

… put those things in place and then you can give control.

”“

David Marquet



i intend to…


ArchitectureApproach 3:The Architecture Coach


Rob van Hilten, Flickr



Daily Design Meeting • 30 minutes

• Technical lead from each team

• Discuss challenges that being encountered

• Exercise is repeated on the team that brought the challenge



Resist the urge to provide solutions.

”“David Marquet



questionscommunicate

values



letting go is hard



Design MeetingChallenges

• Jealousy from those who cannot attend

• Conflict remains between teams

• Design group seen as new design authority



organizations which design systems ... are constrained to

produce designs which are copies of the communication

structures of these organizations

”“

M. Conway


ArchitectureApproach 3:The Architecture Coach


Rob van Hilten, FlickrCoaching Agile Teams, Lyssa Adkins



Design Steps • What is the problem you’re trying to solve?

• What solutions should we consider?

• What are the pros/cons of each solution?



Sources: Edward de Bono,retrospectivewiki.org



create a common frameworkfor resolving conflict



disagreement is amechanism for

organizational clarity



the end?



something interestinghappened



?



do we still need an architect?


Final Architecture Approach:Architecting as a Team


Steve Jurvetson, Flickr



approach must evolveover time



Summary • Empowerment is more than standing back

• Lead through intent

• Resist the urge to provide solutions

• Create a framework for disagreement

• Disagreement is a mechanism for organizational clarity


Chris Edwards

[email protected]

@AgileChrisYYC


Questions?

mailto:[email protected]

the agile architect - agile india 2016

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