7 architectural sins: why we keep making them and how we can stop

Why do we keep making the same mistakes over and over? Why do we praise best practices like TTD, DDD and Team Topologies but don’t practice them consistently? Let’s explore common architecture patterns we see in most companies, their disadvantages and how they have come to exist. We will explore how to avoid there practices using Holistic Engineering.

Target Audience: Architects, Developers, Engineering Managers, Engineering Leaders, Staff+ engineers
Prerequisites:none
Level: Practicing

Extended Abstract:
Why do we keep making the same mistakes over and over? Why do we praise best practices like TTD, DDD and Team Topologies but don’t practice them consistently? Why do I find the same problematic architectural patterns in almost every company I have worked in?

This talk will discuss seven real life architectural sins, discuss how they come to manifest and the impact they have using real case scenarios drawn from many experiences I have had with such problems. I will draw out the common factors that underpinned these difficulties, describing not only how they presented in code, but also the causes that led to them. I will introduce Holistic Engineering, the practice of designing tech thinking of all the intrinsic parts of the organic system, embracing how people, management, organisational structure, budgets, company goals, production vision, security and even the political climate impact directly your code. This talk will help you better understand the boundaries of the organic system you are making technical decisions for and apply strategies to incorporate technical and non-technical factors to your decision process for your ever evolving organic system.