I am someone who has traversed the journey in Agile from a nay-sayer to an evangelist. My introduction to Agile started when I was working as an Enterprise Architect and my lead said, “We are going Agile”. And my first reaction was “Ok, so what?”

After attending the training, I thought – they are just reducing the frequency of delivery. It will not work but I am going to benefit as I don’t have to document now. I worked in my own Silo, far away from the Agile teams.

Over the next few months, I got a bird’s eye view at what Agile brings on the table and realized my work as an Architect was complementary to Agile and not conflicting. But it wasn’t an easy thing for us architects to adapt. Design had to be done, but it also was not set in stone and evolutionary. Close collaboration was needed with teams which wasn’t there earlier. Focus needed to shift to giving more control to the team than a controlled design.

Agility refers to achieving speed and Architecture refers to a long-term vision and direction, both must come together to be able to sustain with the pace of the current VUCA world we all dwell in. I noticed that the two were always being treated as conflicting priorities across the enterprise. Architects seemed to be stuck with the idea that they cant be part of these fast changing business requirements and they needed to think big picture. And business wanted to get the changes to their customers faster to stay competitive. There needed to be someone who could tie the two together and align the paths towards the larger goal.

Few years later, I was working for a company where SAFe (Scaled Agile Framework) was being introduced. It provided a robust framework to develop solutions in large organizations rapidly. While working on programs in the SAFe model, I realized how seamlessly they had integrated Architecture into the overall methodology. Some of the great concepts I came across in the same are:

• The Architecture Runway: The core concept is the code, components and existing infrastructure which is needed to implement the near-term features without excessive redesign and delay. While features are developed using the Architecture Runway, the Runway is continuously extended by the Enablers.
• Emergent design and Intentional Architecture: While we need an Intentional architecture which is a set of purposeful and planned architectural guidelines; with emergent design, an enterprise can deliver functionality while the underlying design emerges with the clarity around the features being developed.
• Role of Architects: I was used to the roles of Solutions Architect, Enterprise Architect, etc but SAFe defined the roles very clearly in the enterprise. How solutions/ system architect should create the Architecture Runway with a system view based on the direction provided by the Enterprise Architect.
• Collaboration between Business and Architects: This has been one of the pain areas which was missing in the enterprises. Starting from prioritizing strategic initiatives, defining epics and user stories with Architecture models, and ensuring the stories are compliant with the overall enterprise standards, the processes were defined clearly ensuring everyone in the enterprise was aware of the expectations.

SAFe brings all the components of an Enterprise together in one seamless framework thereby making it easier for adaptation along with providing the guidelines needed to ensure Enterprises succeed in Agile. In a world where enterprises are run by systems focused on their own KPIs, SAFe brought the entire enterprise into one big picture; establishing the governance and structure that needs to be followed. While we all talk Agile and Architecture in different breaths, SAFe brings the two together and creates a holistic framework in which both can work in tandem thereby achieving the ultimate goal for every enterprise – Value to their customers.

Refer to the ‘SAFe for Architects’ course from Scaled Agile on the details around Lean Architecture, how business and architecture align together and other concepts like DevOps, Solution Intent, etc.

https://www.scaledagile.com/certification/courses/safe-for-architects/

References:

https://www.scaledagileframework.com/