Reda Hmeid reflects on his early software development experiences, emphasizing the importance of architecture in software projects, particularly highlighting the flawed choices that led to inefficiencies. He advocates for modern principles such as agile methodologies, continuous integration, and the use of microservices to ensure better software architecture. Ultimately, he stresses that great architecture is foundational for technical excellence and can significantly improve the software development process.

1. #MAGA – MAKE
ARCHITECTURE GREAT AGAIN
Reda Hmeid

2. A little about me
• Reda Hmeid – Ree-da H—meed
• Architect
• Twitter: @softwareda
• LinkedIn: redahmeid
• Blog: https://medium.com/openlight

3. THE YEAR WAS 2000
I was on my first software project

4. The architecture
was….interesting
Built upon servlets that served
dynamically generated Javascript
and HTML, calling an EJB 1.0
backend system, off a single
codebase

5. The code versioning strategy
was….interesting
We used to code directly on the Unix
box.

6. My day consisted of
vi FrontEndControllerServlet.java

7. My day consisted of
Edit edit edit

8. My day consisted of
:wq

9. My day consisted of
vi AnotherControllerServlet.java

10. My day consisted of
Edit edit edit

11. My day consisted of
:wq

12. My day consisted of
javac */*/*.java

13. My day consisted of
restart.sh

14. But then….
I discovered the Unix command –
Escape K

15. My day now consisted of
vi FrontEndControllerServlet.java

16. My day now consisted of
Edit edit edit

17. My day now consisted of
:wq

18. My day now consisted of
vi AnotherControllerServlet.java

19. My day now consisted of
Edit edit edit

20. My day now consisted of
:wq

21. My day now consisted of
Escape-K; Enter

22. As you can see
It saved me so much time

23. One day I used Escape-K as
normal
Except someone had logged onto the
unix box with the same logon

24. And so the most recent
command was
rm –r */*/*

25. HOW DID THIS MESS
HAPPEN?
Or…whose fault is it that I fell into the pits of hell?

26. Businesses have always wanted to deliver
business features and benefit quickly
Some things are still the same

27. What tools and processes were
used
• TeamConnect - VCS
• Scripted builds (we didn’t even use
Ant yet)
• Waterfall

28. They were no….
• Agile
• CI/CD
• Cloud
• Git
• TDD
• Docker

29. The problem was this…
Built upon servlets that served
dynamically generated Javascript
and HTML, calling an EJB 1.0
backend system, off a single
codebase

30. A flawed architecture
• Wrong technology choice (Javascript)
• No separation between the view or
the controller
• Untestable code in isolation
• Leading to bad code
• Leading to slow deployments
• Making it difficult to debug

31. Your architecture is the
foundation upon which the rest of
your software is built.
A good architecture is not just
optional

32. HOW TO MAKE AN
ARCHITECTURE GREAT
Principles and guidelines

33. A product of circumstance
A great architecture is shaped by its
environment and ecosystem.

34. A product of circumstance
A great architecture is shaped by the
tools, processes, people and technology
available. These are both limitations and
opportunities

35. We have these available to us
• Agile
• CI/CD
• Cloud
• Git
• TDD
• Docker
• Plus many more…

36. This is tiki taka….and it is sh*t
We encourage a purist approach to
architecture but not a dogmatic one

37. For example
Microservices are self contained, separately
deployable, separately running application
code doing just one thing.

38. Change the emphasis
Every era requires a different emphasis
upon its architecture.

39. Change the emphasis
The emphasis used to be on reuse in our
architecture. This was in response to
slow release cycles and difficulty in
testing

40. Change the emphasis
Today, we have the ability to deploy
within minutes. But to achieve those
quick deployments, our emphasis has to
be on loose coupling components

41. Loose Coupling
No Frameworks…avoid libraries….better
APIs…physical segregation

42. Final Thoughts
• “Continuous attention to technical
excellence and good design enhances
agility.”
• The architecture of your software is
its foundation
• A great architecture is the first step
towards technical excellence
• A great architecture may have
prevented my hell in 2000