The role of the architect in an agile team is challenging and not well defined. Neither the Agile nor Scrum principles provide a clear definition of responsibilities. But the agile role of the architect is important.
Agile transforms the traditional command and control mechanism, with all its rules, guidelines and standards, into a democratic process in which all team members have the freedom and flexibility to design a system. Without an architect, things get ugly as soon as you go spirits, and code management becomes a nightmare if you don’t have standards or a set framework.
Architects have designed and developed solutions and recorded them in documents. These documents were extensive and available prior to the development phase of the project.
But in an agile best practice, architects work on epic stories and user stories in the product portfolio and provide the best solution. They need to take a bigger picture and make global design decisions after talking with product owners and agile teams.
Here are the best strategies and practices that every agile architect should adopt to be successful.
- Define the architectural vision
Agile architects define the architectural vision, aligned with the business goals and strategic objectives of the organization. They also define technical direction, taking into account key constraints like scope and budget. They choose the right solution for the business and design an architecture that can be tested and adapted.
To achieve this, architects must know the needs and goals of the stakeholders, as well as the constraints. The architect must be agile in approach towards modeling and documentation of design and architecture, while at the same time working closely with sprint teams.
- Choose the right technologies and tools
The choice of teams and technology in agile tools is very important. The architect should take the initiative to help the team choose the right tools and technologies, but should not dictate the tools and technologies to be used. The agile architect must involve people in decision making and collaborate and contribute when necessary.
- Plan the change
An architecture that can’t handle change is fragile, not agile. The architecture is based on change planning, change management, and stakeholder control.
The architect should encourage comments and suggestions and should not protect ideas; the architect must accept change and be open to feedback.
However, the architect should not accept changes without considering the impact and cost of the change. The architect should be able to propose alternatives.
- Socialize, collaborate, motivate
The agile architect must build relationships with team members. Social life is critical to the success of agile architects. Lack of socialization could well be one reason for the agile architect’s failure in an agile team. Therefore, the agile architect must be adept at communicating and collaborating within and between teams.
The agile architect must communicate with stakeholders to understand their goals, requirements, and limitations.
It is imperative that the agile architect communicate the architecture so that everyone on the team knows about it. The agile architect must spend time with teams, motivate team members, and be able to earn their respect and trust in order to be successful. The success of an agile best practice team relies heavily on shared understanding, knowledge, and collaboration.
The agile architect doesn’t have to be a problem solver. Instead of solving problems, the agile architect must motivate, guide and guide the team so that its members can solve the problems on their own. The architect must make design decisions together with the team. Design ideas should evolve as you prepare the product backlog together with the team.
Further Readings:
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