We have another great opportunity to listen to a Conference Talk!!! Michelle Brush, one of our chapter leaders was selected as a speaker at OSCON. Don't miss it!
Talk Description
The number of languages, frameworks, patterns, and platforms available to software architects and engineers has exploded over time. Initial technical decisions are often easy. Should the system be web-based? Should it support mobile clients? Will it be distributed?
After the easy decisions are made, defining the architecture of a software system often requires navigating the sea of options for frameworks, patterns, platforms, and APIs while still balancing the desired attributes – efficiency, scalability, reliability, usability, and so on. On the surface more options from which to choose would seem better, but the technical work effort required in narrowing down choices can be significant. Software organizations don’t have an infinite supply of time with which to prototype, analyze, and/or assess the multitude of architectural options and impact.
The industry has seen software development teams fall into analysis paralysis where development is delayed as they attempt to make the perfect decisions. It has also seen the poor results of teams making quick, convenient, but poor decisions early on by falling victim to their own architectural biases, such as the second-system effect and resumé-driven development.
This talk frames architectural decisions in the context of behavioral economics. It covers the psychology of how people approach technical choices and the impact it has to the software using data, and examples from different development organizations. The talk provides guidance on how to leverage an understanding of how people approach making choices to steer software engineers and architects into making the right architectural decisions.