Topics

Every note here is about the same thing: complexity. They come at it from three directions.

Clif's notes on Architecture

• Great Architecture Serves the Business. Everything Else Is Decoration.

  A technically elegant architecture that doesn't serve the business isn't great architecture. It's an expensive hobby. Here's how to keep IT aligned with what the business actually needs.

• Platform Strategy: When Standardization Speeds You Up

  Most enterprise standards slow teams down. Gregor Hohpe's Platform Strategy explains how a well-built platform can do the opposite, and why most so-called platforms aren't platforms at all.

• AI Will Write the Code. Who Will Battle the Complexity?

  AI has made producing code almost free. Understanding code costs just as much as it always did, and that gap is where the next wave of complexity is coming from.

• The Software Architect Elevator: The Book I Wish I'd Had in 2018

  Gregor Hohpe's book is the best description I've read of what an architect is actually for: connecting the boardroom to the engine room, and making it work.

• Architecture Decision Records: Documentation That Isn't Evil

  In 2018 I argued that documentation doesn't have to be evil. Architecture Decision Records are the best evidence I've found that I was right.

• Your Organization Has a Complexity Budget

  Every organization can only absorb so much complexity. Most of them overspend without noticing until they can't deliver anything.

• Simple Isn't Easy (And That's the Point)

  We say "simple" when we mean "familiar," and that one mix-up drives a lot of bad architecture decisions.

• There's More to Quality Than You Think

  Most teams only test one of the eight characteristics of software quality. Meet ISO/IEC 25010, or as I like to call it, good old "Twenty-Five Ten."

• What Does an Enterprise Architect Do?

  Nearly every interviewer asked me the same question when I interviewed for the role. Here's how developers, application, solution, and enterprise architects fit together.

• A New Guiding Principle for Application Development

  SOA optimizes for reuse. TDD optimizes for testability. What if we had a principle that optimized for the product itself? Introducing the Product Manifesto.

• 10 Warning Signs When Dealing With Vendors

  Hiring a wolf to guard the sheep? Ten red flags for project managers, architects, and executives when a vendor is in the driver's seat.

Clif's notes on Engineering

• Platform Strategy: When Standardization Speeds You Up

  Most enterprise standards slow teams down. Gregor Hohpe's Platform Strategy explains how a well-built platform can do the opposite, and why most so-called platforms aren't platforms at all.

• AI Will Write the Code. Who Will Battle the Complexity?

  AI has made producing code almost free. Understanding code costs just as much as it always did, and that gap is where the next wave of complexity is coming from.

• Architecture Decision Records: Documentation That Isn't Evil

  In 2018 I argued that documentation doesn't have to be evil. Architecture Decision Records are the best evidence I've found that I was right.

• Simple Isn't Easy (And That's the Point)

  We say "simple" when we mean "familiar," and that one mix-up drives a lot of bad architecture decisions.

• There's More to Quality Than You Think

  Most teams only test one of the eight characteristics of software quality. Meet ISO/IEC 25010, or as I like to call it, good old "Twenty-Five Ten."

• Is Documentation the Great Evil?

  "Agile teams don't do documentation" is a myth, and an expensive one. Documentation done right is small, automated, and actually useful.

• A New Guiding Principle for Application Development

  SOA optimizes for reuse. TDD optimizes for testability. What if we had a principle that optimized for the product itself? Introducing the Product Manifesto.

Clif's notes on Leadership

• Great Architecture Serves the Business. Everything Else Is Decoration.

  A technically elegant architecture that doesn't serve the business isn't great architecture. It's an expensive hobby. Here's how to keep IT aligned with what the business actually needs.

• Platform Strategy: When Standardization Speeds You Up

  Most enterprise standards slow teams down. Gregor Hohpe's Platform Strategy explains how a well-built platform can do the opposite, and why most so-called platforms aren't platforms at all.

• AI Will Write the Code. Who Will Battle the Complexity?

  AI has made producing code almost free. Understanding code costs just as much as it always did, and that gap is where the next wave of complexity is coming from.

• The Software Architect Elevator: The Book I Wish I'd Had in 2018

  Gregor Hohpe's book is the best description I've read of what an architect is actually for: connecting the boardroom to the engine room, and making it work.

• The Leader's Most Underrated Tool Is Subtraction

  Leaders get rewarded for adding things like initiatives, teams, and tools. The leaders I admire most are the ones who know how to take things away.

• Your Organization Has a Complexity Budget

  Every organization can only absorb so much complexity. Most of them overspend without noticing until they can't deliver anything.

• Battling Complexity, Again

  The blog is back. The tools have changed a lot since 2018. The problem hasn't changed at all.

• Is Documentation the Great Evil?

  "Agile teams don't do documentation" is a myth, and an expensive one. Documentation done right is small, automated, and actually useful.

• What Does an Enterprise Architect Do?

  Nearly every interviewer asked me the same question when I interviewed for the role. Here's how developers, application, solution, and enterprise architects fit together.

• 10 Warning Signs When Dealing With Vendors

  Hiring a wolf to guard the sheep? Ten red flags for project managers, architects, and executives when a vendor is in the driver's seat.