Beyond Software Architecture

Luke Hohmann is an independent consultant committed to coaching his clients to greater levels of performance in the areas of product management, software development, and organizational effectiveness. He has worked in and lead development, product marketing/management, quality assurance, support, and business development functions in both public and private companies. He has created software ranging from single-user programs costing less than $50 to distributed, enterprise-class software platforms costing multiple millions of dollars. Mr. Hohmann is the author of Journey of the Software Professional: A Sociology of Software Development (Prentice Hall, 1997), as well as numerous articles on software development. 0201775948AB01132003

Praise for Beyond Software Architecture "Luke Hohmann is that rare software technologist who views software development from the viewpoint of the end user. He passionately believes that one hour spent with an end user is worth many hours making software architectural choices or days documenting perceived user requirements. Most of what is written about software development focuses on methods used to design and develop robust software. Luke's latest effort, Beyond Software Architecture, illuminates the more mundane aspects of creating true business solutions by supporting the user throughout the lifecycle of the software product. By concerning himself with creating business value, Luke tightens the connection between a software application and the business function it performs." Bruce Bourbon General Partner, Telos Venture Partners ~"There are two kinds of people that read the Dilbert comic strip: folks that take a moment to marvel at how accurately it reflects life at their company before moving on to the next comic strip, and folks that think Dilbert is an amusing reminder that high tech companies can and should be better than Dilbert's world. Anyone in the first group should stick to reading comics. This book is for people in the latter group." - Tony Navarrete Vice President, Diamondhead Ventures ~"Luke brings a proven methodology to the challenge of software development. In Beyond Software Architecture, Luke provides practical and proven techniques that all development executives can employ to improve the productivity of their software organization." - G. Bradford Solso CEO, Taviz Technology ~"Beyond Software Architecture is the first book I have read which contains an insider's perspective of both the business and technical facets of software architecture. This is a great book to get marketers and software managers on the same page!" Damon Schechter CEO, LOC Global author of Delivering the Goods ~"There are books on technical architecture and books on product marketing, but few, if any, on how architecture and marketing information must be integrated for world class product development. Beyond Software Architecture provides this valuable bridge between technology and marketing it explains how to deliver quality products that are profitable in the marketplace." Jim Highsmith Director, Cutter Consortium author of Adaptive Software Development ~"Product development managers, marketing managers, architects, and technical leads from all functions should read this book. You'll see a pragmatic view of how to define and use a product architecture throughout a project's lifecycle and a product's lifetime." Johanna Rothman Rothman Consulting Group, Inc. ~"Luke Hohmann has captured the essence of product creation in his latest book. He cleverly discusses the need for both the marketing and engineering roles in product creation and ties the two together building a good foundation for understanding and executing successful product creation." Lee Sigler Principal, 360 Market View, Inc. ~"Finally a book that deals with those often ignored but critical operational issues like licensing, deployment, installation, configuration and support. Beyond Software Architecture is the "What they don't teach you at Harvard Business School" book for anyone who develops software products or buys them." Mary Poppendieck Managing Director, Agile Alliance President, Poppendieck LLC ~"Luke Hohmann delivers a passionate, articulate wake-up call to software architects: it ain't just technical any more! Technical architectures have profound business ramifications, and ignoring the business ramifications of portability, usability, configuration, upgrade and release management, security, and other architectural choices can not only lead to project failures, but ultimately to nasty lawsuits from disappointed customers. Beyond Software Architecture is a must-read for successful software product managers!" Ed Yourdon Author of numerous books and articles on software development ~"Beyond Software Architecture is not just for software engineering professionals! Executives and product managers will find that the book provides the necessary background to make informed decisions about the software that their companies build. I have found that the book is a useful tool for building consensus between management and engineering, because it discusses business and customer-related issues without delving too deeply into implementation details." David Chaiken Vice President Systems Architecture AgileTV Corporation

• Foreword by Martin Fowler. Foreword by Guy Kawasaki. Preface. 1. Software Architecture. Defining Software Architecture. Alternative Thoughts on Software Architecture. Subsystems Are Designed to Manage Dependencies. Subsystems Are Designed According to Human Motivations and Desires. Give in to Great Architectures. Beauty Is in the Eye of the Beholder! Why Software Architecture Matters. Longevity. Stability. Degree and Nature of Change Profitability. Social Structure. Boundaries Defined. Sustainable, Unfair Advantage. Creating an Architecture. Patterns and Architecture. Architectural Evolution and Maturation: Features versus Capabilities. Architectural Care and Feeding. Technological Currency. Technological Debt. Known Bugs. License Compliance. Principles First, Second, and Third. Encapsulation. Interfaces. Loose Coupling. Appropriate Granularity. High Cohesion. Parameterization. Deferral. Creating Architectural Understanding. The Team. Chapter Summary. Check This. Try This. 2. Product Development Primer. What Is Product Management? Why Product Management Matters. Product Development Processes: Creating Release 1.0. Concept Proposal. Product Proposal/Business Plan. Development Plan. Development. Final Quality Assurance. Prelaunch. Launch. It Isn't Like That. It Is a Waterfall Process and Those Don't Work. It Presents All Stages as If They Were of Equal Importance. It Doesn't Detail Any Time. Where Is the Iteration? It Doesn't Prescribe a Development Process. It Doesn't Identify the Level of Collaboration Between Groups within Stages. The Business Plan. Product Development Processes: Creating Release n.n.n. Augmenting the Product Development Process. Successive Freezing. Change Management Protocols. Recycle Bin. Crucial Product Management Concepts. The Four Ps of Marketing. Total Available Market, Total Addressable Market, and Market @BHEADS = Segmentation. The S-Shaped Curve of Adoption. The Whole Product. Technical versus Market Superiority. Position and Positioning. Brand. The Main Message. Chapter Summary. Check This. Try This. 3. The Difference between Marketecture and Tarchitecture. Who Is Responsible for What? Early Forces in Solution Development. Creating Results in the Short Run while Working in the Long Run. Projecting the Future. Harnessing Feedback. Generating Clarity. Working in Unison. Reaching Agreements. Making Data Available. Context Diagrams and Target Products. Chapter Summary. Check This. Try This. 4. Business and License Model Symbiosis. Common Software Business Models. Time-Based Access or Usage. Transaction. Metering. Hardware. Services. Revenue Obtained/Costs Saved. Rights Associated with Business Models. Tarchitectural Support for the Business Model. General Issues. Time-Based Access or Usage. Transaction. Metering. Hardware. Enforcing Licensing Models. The Honor System. Home-Grown License Managers. Third-Party or Professional License Managers. The Client. Market Maturity Influences on the Business Model. Choosing a Business Model. Chapter Summary. Check This. Try This. 5. Technology In-Licensing. Licensing Risks/Rewards. Contracts—Where the Action Is. Contract Basics. License Terms. When Business Models Collide, Negotiations Ensue. Honoring License Agreements. Managing In-Licensed Technology. Open-Source Licensing. License Fees. Licensing Economics. Chapter Summary. Check This. Try This. 6. Portability. The Perceived Advantages of Portability. The Business Case for Portability. Creating Portable Applications. Use an Interpreted Language. Use Standards-Based Persistent Storage. Make Business Logic Portable. Closer to the User Means Less Portability. Use XML for Standardized, Interoperable Communications between Subsystems. Avoid Hiding The Power of a Specific Platform in the Name of Portability. The Matrix of Pain. Step 1: Remove Configurations. Step 2: Rank-Order Configurations. Step 3: Make the Final Cut. Beware the Promises You Make. Chapter Summary. Check This. Try This. 7. Deployment Architecture. Deployment Choices. Customer Site. Application Service Provider. Managed Service Provider. Transactional (Web Service). Customer Influences on Deployment Architectures. Control and Integration. Data Security/Privacy and Peak Loads. Costs and Vendor Confidence. Customer Skills and Experiences and Geographic Distribution. Corporate Influences on Deployment Architecture. Sales Cycle. Infrastructure Investment. Cash Flow. Flexibility. Geographic Distribution. Service, Not Price. Choosing a Software Deployment Architecture. Deployment Architectures and the Distribution of Work. The Information Appliance. Deployment Choice Influences on Software Architecture. Flexible, Parameterized, or No Integration Options. Upgrade Policies. Data Protection and Access. Migration Options. The Future of Consumer Software. Chapter Summary. Check This. Try This. 8. Integration and Extension. Customer Control—The Driving Force. Motivations for Integration/Extension. Layered Business Architectures: Logical Structures. The User Interface Layer. The Services Layer. The Domain Model Layer. The Persistent Data Layer. Variations on a Theme. Creating Layered Business Architectures. Integration and Extension at the Business Logic Layers. Technologies and Locus of Control. Integration through APIs. Extension through Registration. Integration and Extension of Persistent Data. Views. User Fields. Hook Tables. Spreadsheet Pivot Tables. Extract, Transform, and Load Scripts. Tell Them What's Going On. Business Ramifications. Professional Services. Training Programs. Certification. User Community. License Agreements. Managing APIs Over Multiple Releases. Techniques. Chapter Summary. Check This. Try This. 9. Brand and Brand Elements. Brand Elements. Names. Graphics, Slogans, and Other Brand Elements. When to Use the Trademark (™) Symbol. Managing In-License Brands. Brand Element Customizations. Changing Brand Elements. Product Areas to Change. QA and Change. Chapter Summary. Check This. Try This. 10. Usability. Usability Is about Money. Mental Models, Metaphors, and Usability. Tarchitectural Influences on User Interface Design. Areas of Influence. The Need for Speed. Let's Be Clear on What We're Talking About. What a Marketect Really Wants with Respect to Performance. Responding to the User. Performance And Tarchitectural Impact. Chapter Summary. Check This. Try This. 11. Installation. The Out of Box Experience. Ouch! That Might Hurt. Customer Fears. Installation and Architecture. Forces and Choices. How to Install. Installation Data Collection and Precondition Verification. Installation. Postinstallation Confirmation. Finishing Touches. They Don't Read the Manual. Test the Install and Uninstall. Chapter Summary. Check This. Try This. 12. Upgrade. Like Installation, Only Worse. Upgrade Fears. Making Upgrades Less Painful. Choices for Painless Upgrades. Market Maturity and Upgrades. Chapter Summary. Check This. Try This. 13. Configuration. Configurability—An Element of Usability. The System Context. Contextual Information. Initialization versus Execution. Setting the Value. Setting the Right Value. Configuration Parameter Heuristics. Chapter Summary. Check This. Try This. 14. Logs. I Want to Know What's Happening. Not Just the Facts. Log Format and Management. Log Format. Log Management. Logging Standards and Libraries. Postprocessing Log Data. Logging Services. Chapter Summary. Check This. Try This. 15. Release Management. Yes, You Really Need This. Establishing a Baseline. Release Management. What You're Releasing. Who You're Targeting. Why They Want It. Release Identification. Full or Complete Releases Partial Releases. Patch Releases. Variations. SKUs and Serial Numbers. SKU Management. Serial Numbers, Registration, and Activation. Release Management Influences on Tarchitecture. Chapter Summary. Check This. Try This. 16. Security. Viruses, Hackers, and Pirates. Managing Risk. See No Evil, Speak No Evil. Digital Identity Management. Authorization—Defining Who Can Do What. Authentication—Proof of Identity. Transaction Security. Auditability—Proof of Activity. Integrity—Preventing Tampering and Alteration of Data. Confidentiality—Keeping Data Away from Those Not Entitled to It. Accountability—Holding People Responsible for Their Actions. Software Security. Software Security Techniques. Software Security Costs/Benefits. Information Security. Secret Algorithms or Secret Keys? Back Doors. Security and Marketecture. Areas of Interaction. Chapter Summary. Check This. Try This. Appendix A. Release Checklist. Appendix B. A Pattern Language for Strategic Product Management. Applying The Patterns. Capturing the Result. Market Map. Market Events/Market Rhythms. Feature/Benefit Map. The Tarchitecture Roadmap. References. Bibliography. About the Author. Index. 0201775948T01212003