Agile Development & Software Architecture
For almost 20 years I have been a fan of, and borderline apologist for, Microsoft. One of the main reasons was their focus on software usability, backed up by a visible intention to preserve backwards compatibility wherever possible. While each … Continue reading →
Musings on why Microsoft are abandoning colour as a dimension for information visualisation Continue reading →
If you’re one of those people who uses loads of Apple products, and is thinking of proposing Steve Jobs for canonisation, then you may be happy with how your iPad works, but if you’re trying to make it work effectively … Continue reading →
Well the third day of EAC 2011 came and went. My talk went well. Despite the last minute scheduling change I got a decent audience, and once in front of real listeners managed to find my style and pace again. … Continue reading →
Thoughts on the inadequacy of contingency planning on the British transport networks Continue reading →
Halfway through, and this is shaping up to be the best EAC I have attended for a while. I was umming and aahing about whether to attend yesterday’s seminar sessions, and couldn’t make up my mind which to join. In … Continue reading →
I’m speaking at the IRM Enterprise Architecture Conference 2011, in London next week. My topic is “Practical Enterprise Integration: Realising the Benefits of a Strong Canonical Architecture”. In the paper I discuss the evolution of an EAI environment at National … Continue reading →
In an odd confluence, multiple streams of activity have come together to convince me that current IS thinking may be suffering from a bad dose of “the wrong orientation”. My work on data modelling at National Grid, an excellent course … Continue reading →
Musings on antipatterns in development, project management and IT governance Continue reading →
As my “photographic eye” develops, I find I’m noticing much more readily the colour of light, and how it can be modified by things both inside and outside the scene. This shot of St. Nicholas Abbey on Barbados is an … Continue reading →
I’m currently reading a book called “Beautiful Architecture“. This has at its core the concept that some software structures are inherently elegant, things of beauty as well as great function, like many of our greatest buildings. The trouble is that … Continue reading →
I’ve just had a bit of excellent news – my submission for the 2011 Enterprise Architecture Conference in London has been accepted. The provisional title is “Practical Enterprise Integration – Realising the Benefits of a Strong Canonical Architecture” and I’m … Continue reading →
If you’re wondering why agile methods don’t work in your organisation, look no further than this. Very funny, but scarily accurate. In the words of the Tao of Lao-Tsu, “If you want to control something, you must first let it … Continue reading →
Ruminations on leadership, and how leadership responsibilities change with your perspective Continue reading →
Lessons for anyone contemplating a disruptive, rewrite from scratch, change to a software product Continue reading →
Bemoaning the systemic failings which are leading to a general lack of good business analysts Continue reading →
Why do we in IT insist on forgetting so much valuable knowledge? Continue reading →
Instead of binary accept/reject assessments, here’s a way for an architect to record his true feelings Continue reading →
A paper on Agile Architecture which brings together many of my ideas for the first time Continue reading →
Just in case you haven’t already seen it…. Why you need architects, in song and dance. Enjoy! Continue reading →
I am looking for one of my clients into how costs can be reduced, or quality increased, by increasing the extent to which testing is automated. As a first step, I am trying to develop a comprehensive list of test … Continue reading →
If anyone is interested in hearing more about my views on architecture, and how agile methods apply to the work of the architect, please sign up for the 2006 Enterprise Architecture Conference in London in June. I’m presenting a paper … Continue reading →
How a number of people in different rules contribute to “architecture” Continue reading →
I don’t really believe in a common architectural process. As the author of a successful project management book, and recent articles on data architecture methods, I probably shouldn’t say this, but to paraphrase a famous quote, “When I hear ‘process’, … Continue reading →
Almost all integration projects contain one or more transformations (sometimes called “mappings”) between two different structures holding equivalent data (for example the order tables in the database, and the order XML message). We know how to model the individual static … Continue reading →
There’s been a lot of talk in recent years about a “city planning” metaphor for Enterprise Architecture development. Pat Helland’s article “Metropolis” in the Microsoft Architecture Journal is a very good example (see my post on this for some key quotes). … Continue reading →
I’ve just posted my review of Gregor Hohpe and Bobby Woolfe’s excellent book on Enterprise Integration using messaging, “Enterprise Integration Patterns”. Overall it’s an excellent book, and wiil probably become a “bible” for those involved in the high-level design of … Continue reading →
I’ve just read an excellent paper by Pat Helland of Microsoft, in which he likens the development of cities and manufacturing in the 19th century to the development of systems and business models now. His conclusion – IT at the … Continue reading →
Arnon Rotem-Gal-Oz has set up an interesting new site / blog dedicated to software architecture. Of particular note, he’s trying to put some detail on the architecture “process” which is often negelcted as a single box on the development process … Continue reading →
There seems to be quite a lot of activity on the “Domain Specific Language” front at the moment. Martin Fowler published “Language Workbenches: The Killer-App for Domain Specific Languages?”, in which he concludes that the common programming pattern of setting … Continue reading →
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