The Architect Is the New Agilist

When I read the literature on agility, I rarely read anything about the role of the architect. It's a shame, because the architect has a role in the project as well as in the agility process.

A Role in The Project

You're going to tell me that it goes without saying that he's on the team. But often he is embedded like a war journalist. We listen to him, we ask him to produce the architectural documents that nobody wants to do, but if the lead developer decides to do things this or that way, the architect will not be listened to. And yet he’s the guarantor of the architecture and is responsible for making the link between business needs and the choices of architecture, design, and implementation. He has gained his experience from his technical and business skills, from his project experience, in order to guide the team towards the right choices like a wise old man.

A Role in Agility

An architect who has not understood agility is not an architect in my opinion. He must master agility, and be the engine of the Agile mind. He must be able to criticize in a relevant way. He must also be able to lead meetings in a collaborative way, and therefore, know some techniques derived from agility. The right architecture is the right one, of course, but it is also the one that gets buy-in. It must also be possible to review it, but without necessarily changing its fundamentals in each sprint. The Agile architect thus makes it possible to define an architecture that adapts to the evolution of the project.

So please don't put the architects aside, and make them the driving force. For the good of your projects.