Chapter 1
Introducing Agile Architecture
Agile. Architecture. Revolution. Them's fightin' words, all three of 'em.
Agile—controversial software methodology? Management consulting doublespeak? Word found in every corporate vision statement, where it sits collecting dust, like your grandmother's Hummel figurines?
Architecture—excuse to spend too much on complicated, spaghetti-code middleware? Generating abstruse paperwork instead of writing code that actually works? How to do less work while allegedly being more valuable? (Thanks to Dilbert for that last one.)
Revolution—the difference between today's empty marketing drivel and yesterday's empty marketing drivel? Key word in two Beatles song titles, one a classic, the other a meaningless waste of vinyl? What the victors always call wresting control from the vanquished?
No, no, and no—although we appreciate the sentiment. If you're hoping this book is full of trite clichés, you've come to the wrong place. We're iconoclasts through and through. No cliché, no dogma, no commonly held belief is too sacred for us to skewer, barbecue, and relish with a nice Chianti.
We'll deconstruct Agile, and rebuild the concept in the context of real organizations and their strategic goals. We'll discard architectural dogma, and paint a detailed picture of how we believe architecture should be done. And we'll make the case that the Agile Architecture Revolution is a true revolution.
Many readers may not understand the message of this book. That's what ...
