Yes, Agile Architecture is Real

With due respect to some of my colleagues who seem intent on conflating the acts of architecture and micromanaging, I stand before you as an Enterprise Architect who has delivered agile architecture. It not only can be done, but it is an essential skill for Digital Transformation.

Why Digital Transformation? Because not only is Digital Transformation one of the greatest business challenges of our time, but it requires a level of agility that traditional Enterprise Architecture struggles to cope with. Yes, we want to develop an architectural concept up front. That is essential.

But there is as much distinction between an architectural concept and a system design as there is between a choreography and a dance. The choreographer plans out the complete dance but it is the dancer who brings it to life. A great choreographer with an average dancer will produce an average dance. An excellent dancer with an average choreographer will produce an above average dance. Excellence on both parts produces an amazing work of physical artistry.

The architecture of a system, in digital transformation, requires some known NFRs like adaptability and scalability) However, the functionality side can be a complete mess. The number of unknown functional requirements often exceeds the number of known functional requirements. Architects are often working "in the dark."

The solution to this challenge is to embrace that level of change with structural management of information (consistency at the core) while encouraging new connections and new types of transactions (diversity at the edge). This design principle (consistency at the core, diversity at the edge) is key to understanding what an agile architecture really is. It's the ability to focus on building a foundation that allows flexibility beyond the boundaries of the system.

In other words, for a large undefined set of potential requirements, consolidate around a core set that you believe you can predict, and let the others parts of the system flow freely over time. Consistency is valuable, but it is also expensive. Use it wisely.

To return to the dance metaphor: if you choreograph for the proscenium stage, you can plan every step, every movement, and every leap. But that's not life. That's not the transformative moment we are in. We are not choreographing a dance for the proscenium stage. We are doing a flash dance in Times Square.

Control what you must. Encourage what you can. Challenge your dancers to bring your vision to life. And most importantly: Let the rest flow freely.

I presented many of these ideas in an Executive Update for Cutter (Implementing EA in the Scaled Agile Framework). I will be developing these ideas further in my presentation at MACC. For more information, follow this link: https://midwestacc.com/