Architectures That Bend But Don't Break
All software architectures have to deal with stress. It’s simply the way the world works! Stressors come from multiple directions, including changes in the marketplace, business models, and customer demand, as well as infrastructure failures, improper or unexpected inputs, and bugs. As software architects, one of our jobs is to create solutions that meet both business and quality requirements while appropriately handling stress.
We typically approach stressors by trying to create solutions that are robust. Robust systems can continue functioning properly in the presence of internal and external challenges, but they also have one or more breaking points. When we pass a robust systems known threshold for a particular type of stress, it will fail. When a system encounters an “unknown unknown” challenge, it will usually not be robust!
Recent years have seen new approaches, including resilient, antifragile, and evolutionary architectures. All of these approaches emphasize the notion of adapting to changing conditions in order to not only survive stress but sometimes to benefit from it. In this class, we’ll examine together the theory and practice behind these architectural approaches.
About Matt Stine
My passion is taking a metaphysical approach to software engineering: what is the nature of the collaborative game that we continuously play, and are there better, more contextually-aware ways to play that game?
By day I lead a team tasked with taking a first-principles-centric approach to intentionally enabling programming language usage at the largest bank in the United States.
By night I write and teach my way through a masterclass in software engineering and architecture targeting early-career software engineers working in large-scale enterprise technology organizations.
What is the primary goal?
To win the game. More seriously: to get 1% better every day at providing business value through software.
Who am I?
I'm a 22-year veteran of the enterprise software industry. I've played almost every role I can imagine:
- Software Engineer
- Software Architect
- Technical Lead
- Engineering Manager
- Consultant
- Product Manager
- Field CTO
- Developer Advocate
- Conference Speaker
- Author
- Technical Trainer
- Technical Marketer
- Site Reliability Engineer
- Desktop Support Specialist
I've worked at Fortune 500 companies, a tenacious teal cloud startup, and a not-for-profit children's hospital. I've written a book, and I've hosted a podcast. I've learned a lot along the way, including many things I wish I'd known when I first got started. And so now I want to pass those learnings on to you, especially if you've only just begun your career.
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