Day 72 - Evolutionary Architecture
The continuous evolution of the system and ensuring it remains adaptable & flexible to meet changing business requirements
It's my day 72 of the #100DaysOfDevOps challenge, in this blog I'll be sharing what I learned today about evolutionary architecture...
Evolutionary Architecture to an approach to software architecture that emphasizes continuous adaptation and evolution in response to changing requirements, rather than trying to predict and design for all possible future scenarios.
The concept of evolutionary architecture is rooted in the principles of evolutionary design, which advocates for the incremental and iterative development of software systems, allowing for flexibility and adaptability as requirements evolve over time. This approach recognizes that software systems are not static and unchanging, but rather dynamic and subject to change, and that architecture must be designed to accommodate this reality.
Who's an Evolutionary Architect?
An evolutionary architect is one who constantly balances various forces to achieve their goals. This requires experience to know when to resist or go with the flow. However, becoming inflexible is not a good response to the changes that these forces bring. Although microservices present more opportunities to make decisions. Hence, being able to balance the various trade-offs is critical.
An evolutionary architect drives technical excellence by staying up-to-date with emerging trends, best practices, and new technologies, and applying this knowledge to improve the system.
Responsibility of Evolutionary Architect
Vision: The evolutionary architect is responsible for defining and communicating a technical vision for the system that aligns with the needs and requirements of the customers and the organization.
Empathy: The evolutionary architect must consider the impact of their decisions on customers and colleagues and work to build systems that meet their needs and are easy to use.
Collaboration: The evolutionary architect must work closely with peers and colleagues to define, refine, and execute the technical vision for the system.
Adaptability: The evolutionary architect must be able to adapt the technical vision as the needs of the customers or the organization change over time.
Autonomy: The evolutionary architect must strike a balance between standardizing certain aspects of the system to ensure consistency and enable teams to work autonomously and make decisions that are in the best interest of the system and its users.
Governance: The evolutionary architect is responsible for ensuring that the system being implemented aligns with the technical vision and adheres to established standards and best practices.
Technical Expertise: The evolutionary architect should have a deep understanding of the technical aspects of the system and be able to make informed decisions about the use of different technologies, frameworks, and tools.
Conclusion
An evolutionary architect should be knowledgeable about industry best practices and emerging trends and be able to apply this knowledge to improve the system. Nonetheless, they should continuously update their technical skills and knowledge to stay up-to-date with the latest developments in their field.