Chapter 7. Agile Architecture

Aim for success, not perfection. Never give up your right to be wrong, because then you will lose the ability to learn new things and move forward with your life.

Dr. David M. Burns

Enterprise architecture processes can range from something that is very formal and prescriptively defined to something that is simple yet still effective. Enterprise architectures can be described via models and documents that are several hundred pages in length or by a concise document that provides a simple overview. Architects can work in virtual seclusion from the rest of the organization, or they can work side by side with the people actively involved in software development. This chapter describes how to take an agile approach to enterprise architecture that is simple and effective, which produces concise documentation, and in which architects work side by side with their customers.

This chapter explores the following topics:

• Agility in a nutshell

• Potential problems with existing architecture efforts

• Existing architecture and architectural modeling techniques

• An agile approach to architecture

• What agile architecture efforts should produce

• Agile architecture at Canaxia

• Introducing agile architecture into your organization

• Potential problems with an agile approach