Agile Architecting Collection
• Collection
Publisher
Software Engineering Institute
Topic or Tag
Abstract
Today’s software users have come to expect new features as soon as the need for them arises. In response to this challenge, we are working to reduce the footprint of traditional software offerings and move to providing continuous delivery of new or improved capabilities. Agile practices are strengthened through application of architecture principles. Informed anticipation with just enough architecting in the context of agile release planning can provide the tools to balance of agility, innovation, and speed on the one hand, and system governance, flexibility, and planning for future needs on the other.
Agile software development methods focus on delivering observable benefits to the end user, early and often, through working software. In the Agile approach, functional user stories illustrate that particular capabilities are required. Typically these collected stories are prioritized by end-user need, but almost every story has dependencies on other stories. To optimize value to the user, teams must look ahead and anticipate future needs.
Stories also have dependencies upon the architectural elements of the system. We have defined architectural agility as the ability to identify and analyze these dependencies, and incorporate dependency awareness into a responsive development model. These additional considerations add a new dimension to the typical Agile release planning; benefits derived from the execution of architectural activities may now be allocated to either the current release or to future releases. Architectural agility offers tools that enable the software community to
- adapt the agile focus on end-user stories to address the broader topic of capabilities, including quality attribute requirements
- facilitate a “just-in-time” approach to building out the architectural infrastructure
- optimize architectural investment decisions by analyzing uncertainty and tradeoffs between incurred cost and anticipated value
Architectural agility allows architectural development to follow a “just-in-time” model. There is no completion of exhaustive requirements and design activities and reviews to delay delivery of features. At the same time, architectural agility maintains a steady and consistent focus on continuing architectural evolution in support of emerging features.
Architectural agility requires just enough anticipation. To achieve this quality, architectural anticipation must be informed, and certain tools can help achieve this: dependency analysis, real options analysis, and technical debt management.
Developers first select capabilities to create within each iteration, then identify the architectural elements that must be implemented to support them. The term capabilities replaces user stories, reflecting a need to consider non-functional requirements such as modifiability and security, and to incorporate requirements across a broad range of stakeholders. Such dependency analysis enables the development team to prioritize and schedule work within a release.
A natural extension of a “just-in-time” model of architectural agility and agile architecting is the ability of the architecture and agile processes to enable effective release management and deployment. This requires design and analysis techniques and tools to support not only development practices but also reliable, robust, and secure deployment. For example, a subset of design patterns and tactics improves effectiveness of deployment-related practices such as continuous integration, automated testing, and continuous delivery.
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"Using Agile Effectively in DoD Environments" describes how our research has approached the topic of Agile methods both from an acquisition and a technical perspective.
Collection Items

Architecting in a Complex World: Achieving Agility and Stability in Large-Scale Software Development
• Webcast
By Ipek Ozkaya
Ipek Ozkaya explores tactics about how organizations can better take advantage of software architecting for large-scale agile software-development efforts.
Watch
Architecting in a Complex World: Eliciting and Specifying Quality Attribute Requirements
• Webcast
By Robert Wojcik
Rob Wojcik describes the Quality Attribute Workshop, a scenario-based approach for eliciting requirements for quality attributes (non-functional system qualities such as performance, availability, and security).
Watch
Architecting in a Complex World: Uncovering Architectural Challenges in a System of Systems
• Webcast
By Michael J. Gagliardi
Mike Gagliardi describes development challenges in usability/automation, capability gaps, resource management, training, migration of legacy systems, and collaboration that they have identified from 46 Mission Thread Workshops.
Watch
Integrate End to End Early and Often
• Article
By Felix Bachmann, Luis Carballo, Jim McHale, Robert Nord
This article discusses using architecture-centric engineering and the Team Software Process to develop software for a new trading engine at the Mexican Stock Exchange.
Read
Enabling Agility Through Architecture
• White Paper
By Nanette Brown, Robert Nord, Ipek Ozkaya
Enabling Agility Through Architecture: A Crosstalk article by Nanette Brown, Rod Nord, and Ipek Ozkaya.
Read
Enabling Agility Through Architecture
• Article
By Nanette Brown, Robert Nord, Ipek Ozkaya
This article discusses the important role that architecture plays in effectively applying Agile practices to software development.
Read
Architecting for Sustainable Software Delivery
• Article
By Ronald Koontz (Boeing Company), Robert Nord
With increasing emphasis on avionics system rapid development and reduced cycle times, software architecting practices can be applied with agility to enhance evolving stakeholder concerns while sustaining long-term business goals.
Read
Architecting for Sustainable Software Delivery
• Article
By Robert Nord, Ronald Koontz (Boeing Company)
This article explains five architecture practices that support the evolving software system and delivery of new capabilities.
Read
Combining Architecture-Centric Engineering with the Team Software Process
• Technical Report
By Robert Nord, Jim McHale, Felix Bachmann
ACE methods and the TSP provides an iterative approach for delivering high quality systems on time and within budget. The combined approach helps organizations that must set an architecture/developer team …
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Architecting for Large-Scale Agile Development: A Risk-Driven Approach
• Article
By Ipek Ozkaya, Michael J. Gagliardi, Robert Nord
This article focuses on two agile architecting methods that provide rapid feedback on the state of agile team support: architecture-centric risk factors for adoption of agile development at scale and …
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