May 21, 2014—Agile Architecture—Alan Shalloway

Time and Location

May 21st, 2014 at 7:00 PM
Steptoe Room, Cafeteria 40,
Microsoft Campus,
156th Ave NE,
Redmond, WA 98052.

Come at 6:45 for pizza sponsored by Xtreme Consulting.

Abstract

Never has architecture been more important than now. Scrum acknowledges the need for quality code but gives no advice on how to achieve Agile architecture. The Kanban Method ignores it completely. But as Agile moves into larger organizations we cannot continue to ignore it.

This talk discusses why Agile architecture is so important. It then discusses what Agile architecture needs to accomplish and provides some methods in how to achieve this. This seminar will touch on the why, what and how as summarized here:

Why: Architecture, whether Agile or otherwise, needs to provide the following:

  • A vision
  • Enable extensions to the system
  • Enable new ways of implementing existing concepts
  • Foster testability throughout the system
  • De-couple systems from the application
  • Facilitate reuse of common functions across teams

How: To build Agile architectures, one must be able to:

  • Do Emergent design
  • Do Testing at the behavior and functional level
  • Understand the different perspectives of conceptual Vs specification; creation from using; and system architecture from application architecture

What: Agile architectures will then enable us to:

  • Inject new concepts with little to no rework
  • Add new implementations of existing concepts with only minimally affecting the existing system
  • Change the system with little risk of introducing errors and full confidence that if you do you will detect them

Bio

Al Shalloway is the founder and CEO of Net Objectives. With over 40 years of experience, Al is an industry thought leader in Lean, Kanban, product portfolio management, Scrum and agile design. He helps companies transition to Lean and Agile methods enterprise-wide as well teaches courses in these areas. Al is a SAFe Program Consultant as well as a co-founder of the Lean Systems Society. Al has developed training and coaching methods for Lean-Agile that have helped Net Objectives’ clients achieve long-term, sustainable productivity gains. He is a popular speaker at prestigious conferences worldwide. He is the primary author of Design Patterns Explained: A New Perspective on Object-Oriented Design, Lean-Agile Pocket Guide for Scrum Teams, Lean-Agile Software Development: Achieving Enterprise Agility and Essential Skills for the Agile Developer. Al has worked in literally dozens of industries over his career. He is a co-founder and board member for the Lean Software and Systems Consortium. He has a Masters in Computer Science from M.I.T. as well as a Masters in Mathematics from Emory University.

A Word From Our Sponsor

We’re thrilled to be a NWCPP sponsor! Xtreme Consulting is locally owned and headquartered in Kirkland, WA. We provide a wide-range of business and IT consulting solutions, managed services, and staff augmentation. We actively recruit for fun, smart, and career-driven IT professionals who bring an enthusiasm for personal growth and accelerating success for our clients. Xtreme’s consultants are provided the opportunity to work with and for some of the best technology companies in the industry. We work hard to create a passionate, supportive environment where employees can reach their career development goals, enjoy exceptional benefits, and have fun all at the same time.

Xtreme focuses on solutions and services including analysis, design, architecture, development, testing, implementation, maintenance and support of a variety of software technologies with specific emphasis on portal development, technical content creation, virtual machine environments and client and server deployment. Visit xtremeconsulting.com for more information. You can view and apply to our open positions at xtremeconsulting.com/careers.

Xtreme Contact:
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(425) 861-9460 Ext. 229

Resources

Video | Slides