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Image Source: Amazon.com
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Software Architecture for Busy Developers: Talk and act like
a software architect in one weekend
https://www.amazon.com/Software-Architecture-Busy-Developers-architect/dp/1801071594/
- Publication Date: 2021-10-15
- 174 pages
Author: Stéphane Eyskens
Companion Github repository for the book:
Review Headline: Far Too Ambitious
Link to my review:
Caveat: I was provided a PDF of this book by Packt to review.
(caution: Some tough love given)
General Impression:
This book could be much better. There are many mentions of
frameworks, standards, tools, organizations – and yet, there is a dearth of
links provided when they are *initially* mentioned – and for many, no link is
provided.
Overall, the sequencing of information feels haphazard – and
does not weave a cohesive picture in the mind of the reader.[Note: Another reviewer on Amazon wrote: "...at times it feels like you are reading word-salad, with a bunch of software terminology smashed together in a section that doesn't tie together in the end for an `Architectural Design`"]
Additionally, the book leaves as an exercise for the reader –
determining how the different architect roles work together.
Given the book’s actual content length (149 pages) – I feel it has tried to
tackle too many topics, without sufficient depth in any of them.
The level of breadth attempted by this book – with such
limited depth – may make the reader feel
like they have purchased half-a-book, not a whole book.
It is difficult to determine what this book wants to be…it
swerves and veers – covers some topics by barely a sentence – and spends pages
discussing the details of other topics.
While the book recommends TOGAF, ITIL, and ArchiMate – in
many organizations – these are rarely actually used – and if used, rarely
result in actually being useful – rather, resulting in significant wasted
cycles to establish and implement them – rarely producing equivalent value for
the effort/cost expended.
After reading this book – and seeing the shallow treatment
of the material – I fear that the book’s goal of “Talk and act like a software
architect in one weekend” - is more likely to create more harm - than good.The proverb, "A little knowledge is a dangerous thing", comes to mind.
What I found Interesting:
The inclusion of a companion github repository for the book,
with code examples.
Chapter-3’s coverage of the Architecture Tradeoff AnalysisMethod (ATAM)
Recommendation of the Sparx Enterprise Architect tool.
Chapter-5’s coverage of Design Patterns.
Chapter-6’s Figures 6.5 and 6.6 – illustrating the mapping
of Azure and AWS services to patterns.
Suggestions for the Next Edition:
Add a new chapter to discuss the relationship of software
design patterns, within the context of application design patterns, DevOps
patterns, enterprise integration patterns, as well as cloud architecture
patterns. Illustrating the workflow of how architects at different layers –
work together to deliver business value.
The acronym noted on page-7 (“SoAr”) for Solution Architect
– is often abbreviated simply as “SA” in many organizations.
On page-9, the numbers used in the table for Figure 1.3 do
not seem to tell a coherent story, as intended – with a progression from
Data…to…Wisdom.
At the end of every chapter, there should be a final section,
“Additional Reading”. For example, for Chapter-1: Provide inks to additional resources/materials (such as
TOGAF, ArchiMate,UML, …)
The book should have an additional chapter – to discuss
other architecture frameworks – besides heavyweight TOGAF – and the need for
“Agile Architecture” – with examples cited.
Additionally, the author should introduce resources for exploring some
contrary perspectives and views on how architecture might be viewed (i.e., “The Practice of Enterprise Architecture - A Modern Approach to Business and IT Alignment”, by Svyatoslav Kotusev).
Chapter-2’s discussion of EA should include a discussion on
the types of Governance activities that are core to the EA role.
As an example of the shallow level of coverage of a given
topic, see Page-28 – which briefly mentions NIST – but does not cite any of the
excellent NIST publications that would be of keen interest to any number of
architect roles. Although the NIST Cyber Security Framework link is provided –
there is no concrete example cited from it – of how it might be useful, or its
applicability.
Chapter-4 mentions several different architecture styles on
page-52 – but does not include a visual to help the reader understand them
conceptually – nor is there any discussion of why one might choose one over the
other.
Figures 4.1 and 4.2 do nothing to help the reader understand
the concept of a software monolith. There are plenty of Open Source projects
that could be used as examples (and, since Sparx EA supports importing the
source code – and will automatically generate UML diagrams – that would be
eminently more meaningful in communicating real-world examples).
Page-60 should include a discussion of the benefits of
GraphQL style services (in the book, GraphQL is only mentioned in a single
sentence, on page-133).
Page-62 should rephrase “Loss of complete oversight” to
“Governance challenges”.
Page-64’s mention of “providing some sort of consistency
across the different microservices” – begs the question – and seems like only a
partially formed thought.
Page-64’s comment regarding the future of Dapr should be
elaborated – and supported by cogent citation of rationale reasons. A table,
comparing it to other options – would greatly improve this section’s
discussion.
Add a section in Chapter-7 to discuss the continuing rise in
the adoption of Low-Code and No-Code platforms – and how they can be leveraged
to accelerate the delivery of solutions in the software architecture landscape.
Table of Contents:
- Chapter-1: Introducing Software Architecture
- Chapter-2: Exploring Architecture Frameworks and
Methodologies
- Chapter-3: Understanding ATAM and the Software Quality
Attributes
- Chapter-4: Reviewing the Historical Architecture Style
- Chapter-5: Design Patterns and Clean Architecture
- Chapter-6: Impact of the Cloud on the Software Architecture
Practice
- Chapter-7: Trendy Architectures and Global Summary
