Being the Architect and YAGNI

# re: Being the Architect and YAGNI

Yes, once we understand the core concepts and ideas, I think we will buy into them a lot better. :D 1/27/2008 7:28 PM | Robz

# re: Being the Architect and YAGNI

The best way is to pair up and code. There are quite a few folks in the Agile community who would consider a non-coding architect to be more hindrance than help. I know I lean in that direction.

Whiteboard discussions that dig into the details of the tech and architecture choices help, but a lot of times programmers aren't going to "get it" until they can see it happening in the code.

I know for myself, with the team I work on, it is not enough to say to them, "we should implement this thing in this way" or "we should use this tool." They want to know why, and often the why can't be expressed as well through speech or whiteboard as it can with code.

I don't know what your responsibilities are Dru, so it's difficult for me to say how much pairing/coding time you could reasonably expect to give to the team during this period of time, but my advice would be to do the opposite of what you're suggesting (backing off). I'd say do the opposite: get your hands dirty with them, so you can be there to answer their questions directly, and so you can feel the pain/pleasure of the technologies, tools and choices you've directed them toward.

When they see things click together in code and the light bulb goes on, then you can think about backing off, because the team will understand the bigger picture (as you do) and you'll know going forward that they're going to do things the right way, and not fight the technology or architecture.

The last thing you want is for your team to resist the tools/techniques because you've said "do this" and then "backed off" into your architecture hole. 1/27/2008 7:32 PM | Chris Holmes

# re: Being the Architect and YAGNI

Hey Chris,

It strikes me that I may not have best described my behavior. I am all about getting into the nitty gritty with my team, I guess I was just trying to spend some time reflecting on my goals. But, that doesn't make anything you said less correct. Thank you for taking the time to comment and I will rethink my whole backoff comment. Thanks! :)
-d 1/27/2008 7:37 PM | dru

# re: Being the Architect and YAGNI

Code Reviews, Code Reviews, Code Reviews..

I've been told that if the first one is a blood bath, the rest of the project will go a *lot* smoother.. 1/29/2008 11:34 PM | Evan