Why We Need Architects and Architecture on Agile Projects

This course explains how to maintain sustainable software architecture on agile projects. It covers architectural stewardship, architecture spikes, landing zones, technical debt, project risks, and practices for balancing architecture with agile delivery.

Syllabus

Intro
Why We Need Architects (and Architecture) on Agile Projects
Three Questions...
Astronaut Architect?
Seagull Architect?
Incompetent Fools?
Agile Design Values
Some Agile Myths
Steward Architect
Stewardship
How Much Architecting Do You Need? Project Criticality
Qualities of Any Good Architecture
Small v. Large Projects
Small Project Architecture Practices
Design "Spikes"
Experiment on Branches
Manage Technical Debt
Keep Architecture in Mind
Sustainable Development
Strike a Balance
Types of Project Risks
Architecture Debt
Product Landing Zones
Good Acceptance Criteria
What's Different?
Landing Zones on Agile Projects
Architecture Spikes
XP Design Spike
What You Do In an Architecture Spike
Criteria for an Architecture Spike: Actionable Results
3 Ways To Manage Architectural Tasks
What Can Go On An Architecture Backlog?
The Agile Architecture Landscape
Differences Between Agile and Traditional Architecture
Values Important to Agile Architects