Lesson 66 - Durable Interface Strategy of Enterprise Architecture

Summary

In this episode of Software Architecture Monday, Mark Richards explores the 'Durable Interface Strategy', the final strategy in a series on enterprise architecture. He explains how this decentralized approach delegates decisions and standards to individual business units, with enterprise architects defining only the interface standards between them. Richards uses the historical analogy of maritime flags to illustrate the importance of a common communication standard. He also discusses the strategy's benefits, such as promoting the right tools for the job and better user satisfaction, as well as its challenges, including high implementation and maintenance costs.

Takeaways

• 🏛 The Durable Interface Strategy is a decentralized approach in enterprise architecture where individual business units have autonomy over their standards with the central organization defining only the interface standards.
• 🔌 This strategy allows for a high degree of autonomy, with each business unit having its own enterprise architects to define specific standards, promoting the right tools for the right job.
• 🤝 The central organization's role is to ensure that all business units interface correctly with one another, typically through gateways, APIs, and integration architectures.
• 🚀 The Durable Interface Strategy is suitable for highly diversified companies that require synergy between departments without strict central control.
• 📚 The strategy's historical analogy is maritime communication during the late 1700s, where ships used flags as a standard interface for communication regardless of their mission.
• 🚫 The complexity of the Durable Interface Strategy is high, making it the most challenging enterprise architecture strategy to implement, especially when changes to the interface standards are required.
• ⚠️ The strategy involves significant trade-offs, including the difficulty and cost of maintaining interfaces, which can be error-prone and lack economies of scale.
• 💡 It promotes user and IT satisfaction by allowing business units to control their own destiny, but at the cost of potentially higher overall costs.
• 📈 The strategy is beneficial for companies that value departmental autonomy and can manage the complexities of decentralized standard setting.
• 📝 The upcoming lesson will involve case studies to apply the enterprise architecture strategies discussed, providing practical insights into their use.
• 🌐 Additional resources and training opportunities are available on Mark Richards' website, Developer to Architect, for those interested in further learning about software architecture.

Q & A

What is the main focus of the 'Software Architecture Monday' series by Mark Richards?

The series focuses on teaching various strategies and concepts related to enterprise architecture, with each lesson diving into a specific topic or strategy.

What is the durable interface strategy in enterprise architecture?

The durable interface strategy is a decentralized approach where decisions and standards are delegated to individual business units, with the enterprise only defining how these units interface with one another.

How does the durable interface strategy differ from other enterprise architecture strategies?

Unlike other strategies, the durable interface strategy emphasizes complete autonomy for business units in defining their standards, with a central focus only on how these units interact with each other.

What role do enterprise architects play in the durable interface strategy?

Enterprise architects in the durable interface strategy define the standard for how business units interface with one another, but they do not dictate the internal standards of each business unit.

Why is the durable interface strategy considered complex to implement?

The complexity arises from the difficulty in maintaining and updating the interface standards across all business units, which can lead to errors and high costs if not managed properly.

What are the advantages of the durable interface strategy?

The strategy promotes the use of the right tools for the right job, allowing business units to make decisions that best fit their needs, which can lead to better user and IT satisfaction.

What are the potential downsides of the durable interface strategy?

The downsides include the high cost of maintaining interfaces, the lack of economies of scale, and the difficulty in controlling costs due to the decentralized nature of the strategy.

How can the durable interface strategy be visualized using a historical analogy?

The strategy can be compared to maritime communication during the late 1700s, where ships used flags as a standard interface to communicate regardless of their mission, illustrating the importance of a common standard for interaction.

What is the significance of integration architecture in the durable interface strategy?

Integration architecture is crucial as it ensures that all business units, despite their autonomy, can communicate and interface effectively through gateways, APIs, and other integration tools.

How do the enterprise architects ensure that the interface standards are adhered to by all business units?

Enterprise architects establish and maintain the interface standards, and it is the responsibility of each business unit to adhere to these standards when interfacing with other units.

What can we expect from the upcoming lesson 67 in the 'Software Architecture Monday' series?

Lesson 67 will involve a case study exercise that allows the audience to interactively decide which enterprise architecture strategies would fit specific scenarios, providing a practical application of the strategies discussed.