/tags/software-architecture/ Recent content in Software Architecture on Tracy Bannon Hugo -- gohugo.io en-us Sun, 04 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0000 /post/2024/2024-02-04-adrs/ Sun, 04 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0000 /post/2024/2024-02-04-adrs/ 𝗙𝗼𝗿 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗻’𝘀 𝘀𝗮𝗸𝗲, 𝗪𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗜𝘁 𝗗𝗼𝘄𝗻!!! I shared the idea of decision records with a mid-career techie and he was blown away by the value and simplicity. Using Architectural Decision Records (ADRs) to jot down choices just make sense. It doesn’t need to be a full white paper… just a few lines as an .MD file. WHY? So your decisions are defensible and to give anyone in the future a frame of reference. /post/2023/2023-09-14-gracehopper_whydidntiknow/ Sun, 24 Sep 2023 00:00:00 +0000 /post/2023/2023-09-14-gracehopper_whydidntiknow/ Discovering Grace Hopper: An Overdue Epiphany in a Multi-Decade Tech We all know who 𝗚𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗛𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗿 is now…and I’m really struggling to figure out why I didn’t know who she was until a few years ago. Consider that I’ve got a few decades under my belt as a software architect and have been part of our evolving technical domain. From the foundational layers of software development to the awesome challenges of complex architectures I’ve found myself immersed in so much cool tech and its adoption. /post/2023/2023-07-30-whyreferencearchitectures/ Sun, 30 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0000 /post/2023/2023-07-30-whyreferencearchitectures/ 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱! It’s missing the list of technology to use and how to knit them together. I heard this recently and became very aware that I needed to do a bit more mentoring on software architecture and in particular, reference architectures. Here’s the 411: A software reference architecture is a common abstraction or standardization of design that can be reused. Abstraction is the key and it serves as a guide for designing and building software systems in a particular domain. /post/2023/2023-07-23-lcncneedslovetoo/ Sun, 23 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0000 /post/2023/2023-07-23-lcncneedslovetoo/ 𝗟𝗼𝘄 𝗖𝗼𝗱𝗲/𝗡𝗼 𝗖𝗼𝗱𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗲𝗰𝗼𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺? 𝗟𝗲𝘁’𝘀 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘂𝗺 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲! LC/NC platforms have a place in the enterprise but what is their real value? The platforms differ by audience and degree of extensibility. There are architectural tradeoffs to consider as well as a set of gotchas. 𝗡𝗼 𝗖𝗼𝗱𝗲 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝘀 are intended for non-technical users who want to deliver value with the greatest amount of simplicity and ease of use They have limited customization options, but they empower non-technical staff to contribute to development and reduce reliance on specialized developers. /post/podcasts/singles/dabom_2023/ Wed, 19 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0000 /post/podcasts/singles/dabom_2023/ daBOM with Trac Bannon and DJ Schleen ** DJ Schleen: I’ll never forget the day I met Tracy, although I really think we were actually separated at birth. We were scheduled to be on a podcast together and after introducing ourselves to each other in the call lobby, we began a discussion that most likely would’ve gone on forever at the host, not interrupted us to get the show started. /post/2023/2023-07-09-nobuds/ Sun, 09 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0000 /post/2023/2023-07-09-nobuds/ 𝗡𝗼 𝗕𝗨𝗗𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗱! BUD means Big Upfront Design where every architectural aspect is planned in detail before the first line of code is written. Folks working in tech for more than 15 years are nodding in agreement. Early on I was taught that my role was create the blueprint, build reference samples, then guide teams to “𝗰𝗼𝗱𝗲, 𝗹𝗼𝗮𝗱, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗱”. We made sure we could “transition” the finished project to the O&M team. /post/2023/2023-07-02-kazmanhumerto_book/ Sun, 02 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0000 /post/2023/2023-07-02-kazmanhumerto_book/ 𝗦𝗼𝗳𝘁𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗔𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗥𝗢𝗖𝗞𝗦! Those who know me, know that this is squarely where my heart rests. 𝗪𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘀 and we need organizations to understand the importance of architecture! IBM Fellow Grady Booch said “All architecture is design, but not all design is architecture. Architecture represents the set of significant design decisions that shape the form and the function of a system, where significant is measured by cost of change. /post/2023/2023-06-25-atam/ Sun, 25 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0000 /post/2023/2023-06-25-atam/ 𝗜’𝗺 𝘁𝗿𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗮 𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗰𝗸 𝗶𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗱! Ok, maybe not a song… actually a set of software architecture concepts and principles that drive architectural design decisions. The process and decisions are almost 𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 binary. There is a logical an repeatable way to rationalize decisions: 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗼𝗳𝗳 𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘆𝘀𝗶𝘀. Here is condensed version (I lean heavily on my SEI training and experience.) Here is condensed version. I lean heavily on my SEI training and experience. /post/2023/2023-06-18-qualityattributes/ Sun, 18 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0000 /post/2023/2023-06-18-qualityattributes/ Do you know what 𝘀𝗼𝗳𝘁𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗯𝘂𝘁𝗲𝘀 are and more importantly, why they matter? Our online community may benefit from talking about 2 topics: Software quality attributes (SQAs) and architecture trade-off analysis. Since trade-offs depend on attributes let’s dig in here first!. SQAs are overall characteristics of a software solution /ecosystem. These aspects define how software performs, not what it does. They play a crucial role in shaping the software’s behavior and functionality in the context of its interaction with users, other systems, and the environment. /post/2023/2023-06-13-trustequation/ Tue, 13 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0000 /post/2023/2023-06-13-trustequation/ It’s odd and simultaneously cool to go back and reference your own book. As a software architect and engineer, being part of a compendium like 𝗥𝗲𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗖𝘆𝗯𝗲𝗿𝗦𝗲𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 gave me the opportunity to insert DevSecOps principles and align modern software practices. Perhaps more importantly, was being able to overlay with the most important aspect: the humans and how to build trust. Trust is not something you just ask for or earn. Rather you need to exude trustworthiness and others examine that and decide for themselves if they can or will extend trust. /post/2023/2023-06-11-platformengineeringnextdevops/ Sun, 11 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0000 /post/2023/2023-06-11-platformengineeringnextdevops/ Is “𝗣𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗗𝗲𝘃𝗢𝗽𝘀”? Not exactly, no. It is another evolutionary technique to drive quality, security, and time to delivery all while improving developer efficiency. I’ve been noodling on how darned similar the intent of Platform Engineering compared to Framework Architecture from 15 + years ago. Quite a bit of my recent work is on defining reference architecture (RA)for digital platforms and am seeing some comparisons folks will appreciate. /post/2023/2023-04-10-tradeoffs-1/ Mon, 10 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000 /post/2023/2023-04-10-tradeoffs-1/ #𝗔𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗹𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗔𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘆𝘀𝗶𝘀 is a crucial step in designing robust systems. It’s all about balancing conflicting requirements & goals. Below is a minified approach. 1️⃣ Identify key qualities: Performance, scalability, security, maintainability, usability, etc. 2️⃣ Prioritize: Rank these qualities based on project & business needs. Remember, there’s no one-size-fits-all solution! 3️⃣ Evaluate design options: Explore architectural patterns & styles that address your priorities. 4️⃣ Analyze tradeoffs: Understand the pros & cons of each option, and how it impacts other aspects of your system. /post/2023/2023-04-09-growingthenextgeneration/ Sun, 09 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000 /post/2023/2023-04-09-growingthenextgeneration/ I’m passionate that we grow the next generation of software architects. Brian Chambers and I have been discussing types of skills needed and came across a blog by Matt Shealy. Software architecture a high-demand role that blends engineering and business leadership. 🚀 𝗛𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝘀𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘀 Diagramming complex architectures (e.g., C4 Modeling, UML, SysML) Deep knowledge of programming languages (Java, JavaScript, Python, Ruby, Rust, Go, C, COBOL) Agile and collaborative software development practices, including DevOps expertise 🚀 𝗦𝗼𝗳𝘁 𝘀𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘀 /post/2022/2022-03-30-cyberops-needs-love-too/ Wed, 30 Mar 2022 00:00:00 +0000 /post/2022/2022-03-30-cyberops-needs-love-too/ Cyber Ops needs love too! We spend much time focused on DEV and often ignoring OPS. I am guilty of this too. I work with the MITRE now; I never realized their emphasis on world class cybersecurity. We work on behalf of the public good. Here are some important Cyber Ops resources: ++ 11 Strategies for CyberSecurity Ops Center - Free download of the 400+ page book OR 20 page summary. /post/2022/2022-03-29-all-that-matters-is-working-code/ Tue, 29 Mar 2022 00:00:00 +0000 /post/2022/2022-03-29-all-that-matters-is-working-code/ The only thing that matters is working code in production! This was a shocking statement by friend and colleague, David Sisk. We worked side by side focused on application architecture and software engineering at Deloitte. David, managed to anger an entire set of senior leaders plus a highly visible methods and tools organization by saying the most important outcome is not documents and decks. Ultimately all that matters is working software. /post/2022/2022-03-devops-misinformation/ Mon, 28 Mar 2022 00:00:00 +0000 /post/2022/2022-03-devops-misinformation/ DevSecOps Misformation is real. Ok, ok, maybe we should say misconceptions? Joan Goodchild wrote a brief blog myth-busting her top 5 DevSecOps fallacies. 1 - DevSecOps Results in Loss of Control - To debunk this myth, leaders need to educate teams on how it works, the value, and share real world experience stories. 2 - You can buy and deploy DevSecOps - I love vendors and marketing folks but… debunking this is another exercise in education and sharing. /post/2022/2022-03-22-cognitiveload/ Tue, 22 Mar 2022 00:00:00 +0000 /post/2022/2022-03-22-cognitiveload/ “Forget monoliths vs. microservices. Cognitive load is what matters.” - Skelton & Pais. I’ve argued for nearly 10 years that Microservice patterns can be overwhelming and when coupled with the explosion in open source, can lead to dramatic cognitive overload. Cognitive load/overload has a very measurable impact on software developers and delivery teams. In researching ways to detect and address this challenge, I came across a very common sense, and thought provoking article.