Software Architecture as Complexity Containment

Ultimately, just one fundamental metric matters when evaluating the competence of software architects: the ability to identify, assess and ultimately contain complexity.

Recently, I had the distinct pleasure to present once again for my hometown technology user group on a topic that is near and dear to my heart - Software Architecture as Complexity Containment.

From the Presentation

The Sources of Complexity

Technological Complexity
Integration Complexity
Organizational Complexity
Operational Complexity
Market Complexity

Complexity Containment Strategies

Identify Capabilities
Enforce Constraints
Clarify Communication
Commit to Vigilance

Additional Resources

Righting Software, by Juval Löwy (ISBN-13: 978-0136524038)

Exploring Requirements, by Gause and Weinberg (ISBN-13: 978-0932633132)

Software Fundamentals, Collected Papers by David Parnas (ISBN-13: 978-0201703696)

Simple Architectures for Complex Enterprises, by Roger Sessions (ISBN-13: 978-0735625785)

Errata

All mistakes are my own and not the responsibility of any authors or practitioners mentioned during the presentation.

When referring to a 7 node, acyclic graph, I stated that it allows for 5,040 combinations. This actually applies to the 7 node network with no constraints on connections between them.

Please contact me if you find any other errata from the presentation.