Speaking Truth to Power

Abstract

Whenever the author conducts an architectural assessment for software development projects, he endeavors to speak truth to power: those with true power never fear the truth. Sam Guckenheimer has observed that in software code there is truth. Code represents the stark reality of a software development organization's labor. There is also truth to be found in a system's architecture. Every system's architecture is molded by the forces that swirl around it, and the collective concerns of all the stakeholders represent the most dynamic forces shaping a system. The software development organization's unique task is to address all the essential concerns of all the important stakeholders and to ensure that they aren't blindsided by unexpected problems and stakeholders. This is why employing a process that incrementally and iteratively grows a system's architecture through the regular release of testable executables is so important. Such a process lets the software team engage the right stakeholders at the right time and to make the right decisions, neither too early nor too late. In creating a software-intensive system that's both relevant and beautiful, every stakeholder, no matter how close or how far from the code, deserves the truth