An attempt to define a role of the Agile Architect including responsibilities and interaction with Agile Teams. Inspired by ideas from the agilemodeling.com

1. Agile Architecture And The Role Of
The Architect In The Agile Team

2. Some Agile Architecture Principals
To Start …
• “Just enough” upfront design
• Just-in-time design each iteration
• Trust your team… and be there for them
• Know when changes are required
• Write docs … but only if someone needs to read
them
• APPLY COMMON SENCE

3. What Does It All Mean…
• “Just enough” upfront design
• High-Level Architecture Is Enough To Size The Story and Start Working On It
• Just-in-time design each iteration
• Architecture Documentation Will Get More Details During The Sprint (When
needed and If needed only)
• Trust your team… and be there for them
• Experienced Team Members Can Make Decisions On The Application
Architecture In Coordination With Architect.
• Know when changes are required
• Architecture Is A Collaboration. All Ideas/Feedback Are Welcome And Will Be
Assessed.
• The Decision On Architecture Change Will Be Made In Collaboration Between
Team Members and Architect
• Write docs … but only if someone needs to read them
• Only relevant architecture details will be documented
• APPLY COMMON SENCE
• Simple. Always Apply Common Sense

4. What To Expect From Architect…
• High-Level Architecture or “No Architecture/Design
Update Needed” Note For Most Of The Stories Before
The Sprint Planning And Sprint Start Date
• Architecture Clarifications And More
Architecture/Design Details During The Sprint
• And I mean It: Ask Questions, Give Feedback And Ideas On
Better Design. All As Usual.
• Design Changes, If Necessary And If It Makes Sense

5. What Is Expected From The Team…
• Review Of The High-Level Architecture For The Stories
Before The Sprint Planning
• Feedback To The High-Level Architecture, If Necessary
• Making Independent Decisions Where Possible
• Example: Not to stack over the name of the field or reference
data value (especially knowing the naming convention). Just
communicate your decision and continue.
• Ideas For Design Improvement