Every system has an architecture, whether accidental or intentional, and regardless of whether it was put in place by a nominated architect or whether it emerged from the decisions and discussions of a team.

All too often the focus of what is often described as architecture is centred around a specific set of platform technologies, which forms only one part of the set of concerns an architecture should. And all too often architecture is seen as a separate concern from development process, whereas the two are intertwined — what you build is influenced by how you build it, and vice versa.

This workshop looks at the relationship between Agile processes and good architecture, taking in development process models, architectural styles, requirements techniques, sufficient modelling techniques, design patterns and testing practices. The day includes a number of exercises and opportunities for discussion so that attendees can see how the different concepts fit together.

It is very easy to get stuck in one way of doing things. This is as true of programming as it is of life. Although a programming paradigm represents a set of stylistic choices, it is much more than this: a programming also represents a way of thinking. Having only way to think about problems is too limiting. A programming paradigm represents a set of patterns of problem framing and solving and contains the ingredients of software architecture. As Émile Auguste Chartier noted, there is nothing more dangerous than an idea when you have only one idea.

Perhaps even more problematic than being stuck with a narrow view of paradigms, is being stuck with a dysfunctional view of each paradigm. For instance, many developers working in languages and frameworks that support object orientation lack a strong idea of the principles of interaction, data abstraction and granularity that support an effective view of OO, and instead surround themselves with manager objects, singletons and DTOs.

During the day we will explore the strengths and weaknesses of different programming styles, patterns, paradigms, languages, etc., with examples and opportunity for discussion.