In his SD Times’ article Why Some Developers Are Hurting SOA David S. Linthicum is discussing some of aspects of mutual relationship between Developers and Software Architecture.
…hard truth is that most developers don’t think about architecture, but focus more on the latest tools, languages and platforms. They are more concerned about how things are built, versus why they are built, or, more importantly, how software systems work and play well with other systems. That thought pattern needs to come to a quick end
Is it really? Being a developer for over 15 years and being a Product Manager/Architect for almost half of this time, I can see from both sides.
Are developers so reluctant about architecture or they are not allowed to think about it in majority of the cases?
Let’s step back a little, as it was discussed in the “Evolution of the programmer” there are several types of programmers, as there would be a few different one for the Product Managers (we still need to define who is the manager nowa days) and above and “focusing on the architecture” could be off on developer’s level as often as it is on management to be fair.
But when it comes to expressing Developer’s thoughts about an architecture of the software it is really comes to the point when he/she has to decide to do so… and major role here would be played by the management position on what wanted to be heard from lower in chain. It comes to prior experience of communicating such subjects.
Conclusion? Do not blame developers for what they are not. Do you want them participate in thinking about architecture? Invite them! You might be amazed what gold mine of ideas you might discover.
PS. Be ready for the ideas, and keep in mind that they might contradict your genius architecture design. Be open minded.
