Michael Carducci
Holistic Software Architect @ Truly Magic
Michael Carducci is a seasoned IT professional with over 25 years of experience, an author, and an internationally recognized speaker, blending expertise in software architecture with the artistry of magic and mentalism. His upcoming book, “Mastering Software Architecture,” reflects his deep understanding of the multifaceted challenges of building resilient, effective software systems and high-performing teams. Michael's career spans roles from individual contributor to CTO, with a particular focus on strategic enterprise architecture and digital transformation.
As a magician and mentalist, Michael has captivated audiences in dozens of countries, applying the same creativity and problem-solving skills that define his technology career. He excels in transforming complex technical concepts into engaging narratives, making him a sought-after speaker, trainer, and emcee for internal and tech events worldwide.
In his consulting work, Michael adopts a holistic approach to software architecture, ensuring alignment with business strategy and operational realities. He empowers teams, bridges tactical and strategic objectives, and guides organizations through transformative changes, always aiming to create sustainable, adaptable solutions.
Michael's unique blend of technical acumen and performative talent makes him an unparalleled force in both the tech and entertainment industries, driven by a passion for continuous learning and a commitment to excellence.
Presentations
Holistic Software Architecture
Tuesday, 8:30 AM EST
Architecture is often described as “the stuff that's hard to change” or “the important stuff (whatever that is).” At its core, architecture defines the very essence of software, transcending mere features and functions to encompass vital capabilities such as scalability, evolvability, elasticity, and reliability. But here's the real question: where do these critical capabilities truly originate?
In this session, we'll embark on a journey to uncover the secrets behind successful architectures. While popular architecture patterns may offer a starting point, it's time to unveil the startling truth – both monolith and microservicesbased projects continue to stumble and falter at alarming rates. The key to unparalleled success lies in the art of finetuning and tailormaking architectures to precisely fit the unique needs of your organization, environment, and the teams delivering the software.
Step into the future as we introduce a groundbreaking, problemcentric approach to defining and evolving system architectures. Our practical techniques will empower you to transform constraints, both architectural and environmental, into powerful enablers of robust, valuable, and longlived software systems.
Join us and elevate your architecture game to new heights!
Digital Knowledge Management for Architects
Tuesday, 10:30 AM EST
“Humans became behaviourally modern the moment they committed to storing abstract information outside their brains.” —Lyn Wadley
As architects, we often bridge the gaps that exist between all of the teams and stakeholders involved in the success or failure of a system. Because of this, information is hitting us from every direction. How we capture, organize, distill, and express this information is critical to our own success or failure.
Unfortunately, while excellent at abstract thinking, our brains are equally terrible at random recall. What we need is a second brain that excels at providing us with the right information at the right time. In this session, we're going to learn Digital Knowledge Management workflows and tools that will help us build and use that second brain.
Six Essential Soft Skills for the Software Architect
Tuesday, 5:00 PM EST
The difference between a junior and a senior dev isn't coding skills. A developer's coding skills are just their ante; necessary to get into the game but, like an ante, they only get you into the game.
Everything that happens from that point on depends on what else you bring to the table.
In this session, we explore the key skills necessary to make an impact, be effective, and will ultimately pave the way to grow into senior/principal level developers and architects.
The Knowledge Graph - The Story From Daydream to Reality
Wednesday, 11:00 AM EST
Knowledge graphs have been quietly powering the future, unlocking new capabilities that were unimaginable to most just a few years ago. The few, however, have been imagining this future for decades and we've finally arrived at, what industry analysts are calling, “The year of the knowledge graph”
This session provides a historical look at the roots of Knowledge Graphs and how the ideas have evolved over the decades along with breakthroughs in various fields, have brought us to the brink of a new era in technology. Join us to see how far we've come and what is possible next!
An Architect's Approach to API Strategies
Wednesday, 5:00 PM EST
Integration, once a luxury, is now a necessity. Doing this well, however, continues to be elusive. Early attempts to build better distributed systems such as DCOM, CORBA, and SOAP were widely regarded as failures. Today the focus is on REST, RPC, and graphql style APIs.
Which is best? The goto answer for architects is, of course, “it depends.”
In this session, we look at the various API approaches, how they attempt to deal with the challenge of decoupling client from server, evolvability, extensibility, adaptability, composability.
The biggest challenge is that needs change over time, and APIs must necessarily evolve. Versioning is challenging, and breaking changes are inevitable. You'll leave this session with a highlevel understanding of these approach, their respective tradeoffs and ultimately how to align your API approach with your architectural and organizational goals.