

What Does an Architect Do in an Agile Shop? An Agile Architect Explains  - msredmond
http://adtmag.com/articles/2011/08/12/role-of-an-architect-in-agile-dev-shop.aspx

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mclin
I like this quote:

 _Perhaps my biggest advantage is that, while I do spend some time coding,
when I think about our software I am not constrained by the fear that I will
have to implement my own ideas. It may seem crass, but as someone who has
worked long years in the trenches I know that there is a subconscious tendency
to discount ideas that may have huge long-term benefits if it means a lot of
work in the short term._

Hate to admit it, but it's true. It's something you fight against.

~~~
gaius
Someone who isn't hands on can't make decisions on behalf of those that are.
What have they got to go on but hype and vendor white papers? Only if you are
immersed every day can you see the forest for the trees.

~~~
mclin
Sure, but as the guy talks about in the article, he is hands on. He just
spends a certain fraction of his time trying to maintain a global picture of
the project and applying insights that come from that.

I haven't worked on a project with more than 4 people for ages, but I don't
think I would mind this.

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wpietri
I give him points for being aware of the normal pitfalls of designated
architects. But even in a good Agile shop I think it's incredibly dangerous to
give somebody an "architect" title.

If architecture is one person's job, it means it's suddenly not anybody else's
job. Software architecture is a pervasive concern, so everybody should be
thinking about it. I think that's much more likely if anybody can notice an
architectural issue and is encouraged to take the lead on sorting things out.

~~~
div
Agree completely.

You are simply not a well-rounded programmer if you can't architect an
application / piece of functionality to do whatever it needs to do.

Designating someone to be the architect just causes strife / encourages
'normal developers' to shut up about architecture because there is no credit
to be made.

~~~
wpietri
Yep! And the "architect" is forced to strive for credit, because nobody is
really in the position to evaluate their work results. At the best, it results
in self-promotion like found in this article. At worst, it involves claiming
credit for everything that goes well, while blaming "those developers" (and
their failure to obey the architect's dictums) for any and all problems.

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j_col
The same thing they should do anywhere else, and this has not changed since
the days of building cathedrals from stone:

1\. Design.

2\. Supporting the implementation effort of the design.

3\. Governance, i.e. making sure that what was designed is what is delivered.

Of course there are many other tasks that a software architect in particular
has to carry out, but in my day job I never stray too far from the three
fundamentals above.

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zacharyz
He sounds more like a PM than an "architect." Is it because he codes and works
in an agile shop that he suddenly becomes an Agile Architect?

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mypov
That sounds like the foreman on the construction site and not an architect.

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jaykz52
Hey look, my employer is getting some HN love..

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mtogo
Haha, hey guys, us Agile Ruby guys are so much cooler than those stupid people
that don't use Apple MacBook Pros and chill at Starbucks.

Sure, they write code and get things done while we talk about how awesome our
Ruby code is, but hey, All the cool kids use ruby[1].

\-- Send from my iPad

[1] <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GpOfwbFRcs>

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RedmondChris
This is the author on the job: <http://tinypic.com/r/2vifkw6/7>

~~~
kfir
well spoken

