Architectural Katas 2026: AI-Assisted Software Architecture
Published by O'Reilly Media, Inc.
Refining your critical thinking and using AI as a partner to find architectural solutions
By registering for Architectural Katas, you get access to the three live online events and can vote for the winning presentation. Registration does not mean you’re also participating in the Architectural Katas challenge. If you’d like to take part, you must gather a team of three to five people and submit your team name to O’Reilly. Team registration will open September 1 following the first event. Your team must include at least one O’Reilly member in order to participate in the Architectural Katas challenge and attend the live events. The first 100 teams to sign up will be selected to participate.
About Architectural Katas: What could be better than practicing software architecture with your handpicked dream team? This year, the Katas challenge, moderated by Sam Newman, will test both your architecture knowledge and your critical thinking when working with AI to come up with solutions. Come to participate or just to watch, learn, and get ideas on how to bring these tools into your architecture.
Participants in Architectural Katas work together in small groups of their choosing to solve a challenge that a fictional organization is facing. Everyone gets the chance to practice their craft with a real software architecture problem in a safe and social environment, and the finalists and winners earn well-deserved bragging rights (not to mention an intriguing line on their résumé). Plus, this year attendees get to practice their generative AI skills and see solutions from their peers using generative AI to enhance their work.
How it works: You put together a first-rate team of three to five people who are ready to tackle an architecture challenge. We’ll share the architecture problem with you at the kickoff on September 1. Then your team will have to solve it, working in whatever way is best for you (video calls, group chat, shared docs, etc.). Registration opens September 1 following the first event; the first 100 teams to sign up will be selected to participate.
Not ready to compete but want to be part of the action? Register for the event and join us to see how Architectural Katas works, cast your vote for the winning team, and learn how to successfully present architecture plans to stakeholders.
What you’ll learn and how you can apply it
- Identifying and designing architectural components
- Diagraming and documenting an architectural solution
- Using generative AI as a collaborator
- Building communication skills to champion architecture decisions to developers and stakeholders
This live event is for you because...
- You’re a senior-level developer who wants to make the move to architect.
- You’re a practicing software architect who wants to hone your skills and learn new software architecture techniques and practices.
- You’re responsible for creating a software architecture for your company, and you want to practice with a real-world challenge.
Prerequisites
- To participate in the Architectural Katas challenge, submit your team name to O’Reilly (Registration opens September 1 following the first event; only the first 100 applicants will be accepted. All registrants can attend Events 1, 2, and 3 and vote for the winning presentation.)
- Come with your questions
- Have a pen and paper handy to capture notes, insights, and inspiration
Recommended follow-up:
- Read AI Engineering (book)
- Read Fundamentals of Software Architecture, second edition (book)
- Read Building Microservices, second edition (book)
- Read Generative AI Design Patterns (book)
- Take Generative AI in Production (live course with Skanda Vivek)
- Take Microservices Bootcamp (live course with Sam Newman)
- Take Software Architecture by Example (live course with Neal Ford and Mark Richards)
Schedule
The time frames are only estimates and may vary according to how the class is progressing.
Event 1: Kickoff – September 1, 2026 Meet the judges, hear all the details on how Architectural Katas works, learn more about the software architecture problem you’ll be solving, and get the chance to ask Sam any questions you may have.
Event 2: Semifinals – October 5, 2026 Hear feedback from the judges on some of the top solutions. You’ll also find out the top teams that will submit their video presentations for the final event.
Event 3: Finals – October 21, 2026 The top teams’ videos are shown, judges provide feedback, attendees vote for their favorite, and judges announce the winner.
With today’s registration, you’ll be automatically signed up for Events 1, 2, and 3 in the Architectural Katas series. You’ll also get access to video recordings of all sessions as they become available, including any you may have missed.
Your Host
Sam Newman
Sam Newman is a technologist focusing on the areas of cloud, microservices, and continuous delivery—three topics which seem to overlap frequently. He provides consulting, training, and advisory services to startups and large multinational enterprises alike, drawing on his more than 20 years in IT as a developer, sysadmin, and architect.Sam is the author of the best-selling Building Microservices (now in its second edition) and Monolith To Microservices, both from O’Reilly, and is also an experienced conference speaker.