Who Should Read This Book?

This book is for anyone who has ever stood at a whiteboard and sketched boxes and lines while trying to answer tough questions.

If you?re completely new to software architecture design, then this book is the perfect introduction. We?ll start with the basics and work our way through the core fundamentals you need to know to be an amazing software architect.

If you?re a programmer who already knows a thing or two about architecture, then this book will help you organize your thoughts. As you read, you may find concepts you intuited on your own but didn?t know the name, or perhaps you?ll find gaps you didn?t know you were missing. After reading this book, you?ll be able to explain why you do what you do, which puts you in a better position to lead others.

If you?re already a software architect and this isn?t your first rodeo, then this book will give you a fresh perspective on how to lead your team. The junior programmers of today expect to have a greater say in the software they build. The focus on fundamentals in this book will prepare you to teach and mentor today?s programmers?the architects of tomorrow?so they can fully participate in the design process. The collaborative design approaches described throughout this book will give you new techniques for safely and productively collaborating with less experienced teammates as you design a software system together.

How to Read This Book

This book is divided into three parts. Parts I and II are designed to be read start to finish. Part III is designed for easy reference.

In Part I you?ll learn the basics of software architecture and design thinking needed to become an architect.

In Part II you?ll learn the essential skills and knowledge all software architects possess.

Part III includes a set of practical architecture design methods. There are no silver bullets, but every software engineer has a silver toolbox filled with practices, methods, and techniques that together allow them to ship amazing software. The methods in Part III come from my silver toolbox and it is my privilege to share them with you.

Each chapter in Parts II and III focuses on a different design mindset, which you?ll learn more about in Chapter 2, ?Design Thinking Fundamentals?. Design mindsets are a way of thinking about the world to help us focus our attention on the right details at the right time. There are four design mindsets: understand, explore, make, and evaluate. Look for the icon at the start of each chapter to tell you which mindset you?ll be learning about next.