Towards Architecture Topologies for Sustainable Fast Flow of Change

ℹ️ Talk at Craft-Conf 2023.

In this talk, I will discuss several ideas around a concept I am calling "Architecture Topologies" (https://esilva.net/architecture-topologies). The focus is developing thinking models and practices for organizations to improve their learning, design, and decision-making approaches and structures.

I will explain how architecture topologies can help organizations achieve a more sustainable, fast flow of change. We will explore essential dimensions organizations must consider to understand and improve their architecture topologies. Additionally, I will share examples of how these changes can be implemented and contribute to responding better to dynamic environments.

It's important to note that such changes will take time to happen. Still, I will share experiences demonstrating how applying Architecture Topologies can create better conditions for organizations to adapt to changing circumstances. My goal with this concept is to encourage people to embrace the idea that learning, design, and decision-making approaches will and should evolve over time.

Transcript

1. Towards Architecture Organization Topologies for Sustainable Fast Flow of Change Eduardo da Silva, PhD (esilva.net | @emgsilva | eduardo@esilva.net) Craft-Conf 2023, 19/05/2023
2. Sustainable Fast Flow of Change ↳quickly & sustainably respond to needs from our environment 2 Photo by Simon Berger on Unsplash 2
3. 3 Inspired by: Reflections: Sociotechnical Systems Design and Organization Change
4. 4 stretching social systems & creating complex processes => increasingly messier social and technical systems… Inspired by: Reflections: Sociotechnical Systems Design and Organization Change
5. 5 Photo by Quino Al on Unsplash Outcome: continuously “fight” against the environment (external & internal)
6. 🏢 These old org structures & Operating models limit the dynamics & velocity that modern orgs need 6 Photo by Cole Patrick on Unsplash 6
7. 7 Inspired by: Reflections: Sociotechnical Systems Design and Organization Change
8. ◌ Acknowledge that orgs are “Open System” - continuously affected by their environment 8 Photo by Ronaldo de Oliveira on Unsplash 8
9. 9 💡Creating org cultures & structures that nurture sustainable learning, designing and decision-making Photo by Ronaldo de Oliveira on Unsplash 9
10. ⛔ Move away from Tech Factory Thinking Models 10
11. 🎯 Sustainable Fast Flow of Change Operating Models 11 Sociotechnical Systems Evolution & Architecture, Eduardo da Silva
12. TL;DR: approaches to architecture in teams & organization will take different forms & change in time (to allow for sustainable flow of change in the org). Embracing that is key to understand and improve them more explicitly. 12 Architecture Topologies & Architecture as Enabling Team, Eduardo da Silva
13. 13 Key dimension of Architecture Topologies: “evolution” Photo by Suzanne D. Williams on Unsplash
14. A model for Architecture Evolution 14 *Would you like architects with your architecture? | images credits: Gregor Hohpe (Stefan Toth)
15. 15 *Would you like architects with your architecture? | images credits: Gregor Hohpe
17. 17 Photo by Alina Grubnyak on Unsplash ❓What about Architecture (learning, design and decision-making) across teams and the organization?
18. 18 Photo by Alina Grubnyak on Unsplash 🕸 org is a network of teams and scopes. Looking at “team scope” architecture in isolation is not enough!
19. “A system is more than the sum of its parts… It loses its essential properties when it is taken apart…“ Russell Ackoff 19 On Systems Thinking, Russell Ackoff
20. 20 Organization Scopes and Relations credits: Technical Leadership, Ruth Malan
21. Example: Product-centric Organization Scopes • Team scope is just one scope, a sub-system in a Product scope • Product Group scope tends to be a way to scale related product (scopes) 21 Product Taxonomy, Ross Clanton, Amy Walters, Jason Zubrick, Pat Birkeland, Mik Kersten, Alan Nance, and Anders Wallgren
22. 22 Photo by Alina Grubnyak on Unsplash 🎯 enable architecture across all the org “Scopes” so it can achieve its purpose & goals and respond to its environment
23. 23 Photo by Ronaldo de Oliveira on Unsplash 23 Key dimension of Architecture Topologies: “Scopes”
24. Architecture Organization Topologies (AOTs) 24
25. State of Architecture Organization Topologies (AOTs) 25 Common Current AOTs Popular Trends AOTs Pioneering AOTs
26. Common Current AOTs: Architect designs & decides, Teams execute 26 Photo by Matthew Henry on Unsplash
29. 29 Photo by Jezael Melgoza on Unsplash Popular Trends AOTs : Multi-team Enabling Architect & Team Architects
32. 32 The Advice Process https://martinfowler.com/articles/scaling-architecture-conversationally.html
33. 33 Scaling the Practice of Architecture, Conversationally, Andrew Harmel-Law 33
34. 34 34 Scaling the Practice of Architecture, Conversationally, Andrew Harmel-Law
35. 35 35 Scaling the Practice of Architecture, Conversationally, Andrew Harmel-Law
36. 36 36 Scaling the Practice of Architecture, Conversationally, Andrew Harmel-Law
37. 37 37 Inspired on: Reinventing Organizations book, by Frederic Laloux ⚠Team can decide to not take the advice (but they MUST seek it) Scaling the Practice of Architecture, Conversationally, Andrew Harmel-Law
38. 38 38 Scaling the Practice of Architecture, Conversationally, Andrew Harmel-Law
39. 39 “What worries you about the Advice Process?” Credits: DDD EU 2022 Keynote, Andrew Harmel-Law, Diana Montalion, Mike Rozinsky, Gayathri Thiyagarajan and Dan Young
40. 40 “How confident are you in the advice process?” Credits: DDD EU 2022 Keynote, Andrew Harmel-Law, Diana Montalion, Mike Rozinsky, Gayathri Thiyagarajan and Dan Young
41. 41 “An idea to make us more confident in this process” Credits: DDD EU 2022 Keynote, Andrew Harmel-Law, Diana Montalion, Mike Rozinsky, Gayathri Thiyagarajan and Dan Young
42. 42 Photo by Hannah Busing on Unsplash Pioneering AOTs : Anybody Architecture
45. 🧭 What Next for you? • Understand where you are • Is that enough for having a sustainable flow of change & cope with your environment? ◦ If not, what are the key aspects to change? • How to make sure these questions are being asked continuously - and you are acting on them? 45
46. Thank you! Eduardo da Silva, PhD Independent consultant - Sustainable Fast Flow of Change # @emgsilva | esilva.net | eduardo@esilva.net 󰗔 Architecture Topologies: emgsilva.net/architecture-topologies 💡 “companion article” of this talk coming soon on esilva.net 46
47. 📚 References • Architecture Organization Topologies, Eduardo da Silva • Architecture Topologies & Architecture as Enabling Team, Eduardo da Silva • Would you like architects with your architecture?, Gregor Hohpe • Less is More with Minimalist Architecture, Ruth Malan and Dana Bredemeyer • Team Topologies, Matthew Skelton and Manuel Pais • Sociotechnical Systems Evolution & Architecture, Eduardo da Silva • On Systems Thinking, Russell Ackoff (analysis by Eduardo da Silva) • Scaling the Practice of Architecture, Conversationally, Andrew Harmel-Law • Reinventing Organizations, Frederic Laloux • Advice Process Playbook, Equal Experts Consulting • Accelerate, Nicole Forsgren, Jez Humble, Gene Kim 47