Prefer Principles, Axioms, and Analogies to Opinion and Taste



Prefer Principles, Axioms, and Analogies to Opinion and Taste

Michael Harmer

WHEn CREATing youR ARCHiTECTuRE you should explicitly use principles, axioms, and analogies to guide the creation. This gives the architecture a num- ber of benefits that are not present if you simply create by implicitly leveraging your experience, opinions, and tastes.
Documenting your architecture will be easier. You can start by describing the principles that were followed. This is much easier than trying to communicate your opinions and experience. The principles will then provide a convenient handle for those tasked with understanding and implementing the architec- ture. It will also be invaluable for subsequent or inexperienced architects who need to work with the architecture.
An architecture with clear principles is an architecture that frees its architect from reviewing everything and being everywhere. It gives architects greater leverage and influence. You will not need to be an omniscient workaholic to ensure that others can consistently:
• Implement and adapt the architecture
• Extend the architecture into related domains
• Reimplement the architecture using newer technologies
• Work out the detailed edge cases

Disagreements about opinion and taste invariably turn into political argu- ments in which authority is used to win. However, disagreements where the foundation principles are clear provide a way for more reasoned discussion to occur without issues being personalised. It also allows the disagreements to be resolved without reference to the architect at all.
Principles and axioms also give an architecture consistency throughout its implementation and across time. Consistency is often a problem, especially in large systems that span multiple technologies and will exist for many years. Clear architectural principles allow those unfamiliar with a particular technol- ogy or component to reason about and more readily understand the unfamil- iar technology.
Michael Harmer has worked in software for 16 years as a developer, team leader, architect, principal engineer, and practice manager.