Jekyll2023-03-27T16:52:00+01:00https://www.julianbrowne.com/rss/posts.xmlRecent Articles from Julian BrownePeriodic essays on software architecture, development and technology management in start-ups, scale-ups and the corporate enterprisehttps://www.julianbrowne.com/article/the-95/The 95%2023-03-27T00:00:00+01:002023-03-27T00:00:00+01:00Julian Browne
It's easy to get carried away with the notion of productivity. It's important but it's also important not to single out highly productive people and compare them to others. It's the varied differences in teams which are both unavoidable and can be harnessed to do better work. Not talking about 10x developers is good for team diversity and avoiding tech-bro monocultures.
https://www.julianbrowne.com/article/blockchain/Blockchain and The Third Web2023-03-14T00:00:00+00:002023-03-14T00:00:00+00:00Julian Browne
The second in a two-part series looking at the evolution of the architecture of the web and its future. This article interactively explores blockchain technology and Web3 (vs Web 3.0) to predict that Web3 will fade away and probably take blockchain with it.
https://www.julianbrowne.com/article/100-year-architecture/100-Year Architecture2023-02-28T00:00:00+00:002023-02-28T00:00:00+00:00Julian Browne
What do we think about when we design software architectures to last? The modern web is a great example of a software architecture that has stood the test of time but it took some crazy thinking and an atomic bomb to get there.
https://www.julianbrowne.com/article/sacred-cows/Killing The Sacred Cows2023-02-21T00:00:00+00:002023-02-21T00:00:00+00:00Julian Browne
Lots of businesses are striving to be 'digital' and yet when it comes to making changes to the way they work with tech and product teams they won't do simple things that make a huge difference
https://www.julianbrowne.com/article/tech-culture/Tech Culture2023-02-13T00:00:00+00:002023-02-13T00:00:00+00:00Julian Browne
The most important thing to get right in any tech-powered busines is the culture. It may feel like we are making strides in this area but we're not. Mary Parker Follet had it nailed more than a hundred years ago.
https://www.julianbrowne.com/article/moving-to-the-cloud/Moving to the Cloud2023-02-06T00:00:00+00:002023-02-06T00:00:00+00:00Julian Browne
A short article on cloud migrations based on having done a few
https://www.julianbrowne.com/article/risk-free-development/Risk-Free Development2023-01-31T00:00:00+00:002023-01-31T00:00:00+00:00Julian Browne
This article looks at the concept of risk and asks whether it really exists in the way we perceive it and whether that can be used to operate like it doesn't
https://www.julianbrowne.com/article/creator-myth/The Creator Myth2023-01-30T00:00:00+00:002023-01-30T00:00:00+00:00Julian Browne
Product Management is an important part of modern software development but it's proving hard to successfully implement in organistions, especially those that have not quite got agile delivery working yet. This article looks at why that is and how you can address some of the main anti-patterns
https://www.julianbrowne.com/article/death-by-customer/Death By Customer2018-10-13T00:00:00+01:002018-10-13T00:00:00+01:00Julian Browne
If companies want to get better at being agile and digital, whatever that means, they need to stop looking to rules and process for the answer. Most of all they need to stop expecting the appointment of an agile coach to change them. Make the company a happy one and the rest will follow.
https://www.julianbrowne.com/article/scaling-agility/Scaling With Agility2016-12-01T00:00:00+00:002016-12-01T00:00:00+00:00Julian Brownehttps://www.julianbrowne.com/article/agile-killing-architect/Is Agile Killing the Architect?2016-07-01T00:00:00+01:002016-07-01T00:00:00+01:00Julian Browne
Has the rise of agile delvery killed off the role of the sofware architect in businesses, or is it still as relevent as it ever was?
https://www.julianbrowne.com/article/freemarket-freelancer/The Freemarket Freelancer2015-06-08T00:00:00+01:002015-06-08T00:00:00+01:00Julian Browne
The market for contractors is all wrong. It should operate more like the film industry where top talent (not rockstars, or those with the loudest voices, but inidivduals who can make, and have made, a difference to the bottom line) gets recognised to the same degree and those that don't get walk-on parts only.
https://www.julianbrowne.com/article/happy-software/Happy Software2015-04-26T00:00:00+01:002015-04-26T00:00:00+01:00Julian Brownehttps://www.julianbrowne.com/article/competence-debt/The Competence Debt2014-05-03T00:00:00+01:002014-05-03T00:00:00+01:00Julian Browne
A summary, and a little extension, to Ben Horowitz's book The Hard Thing About Hard Things
https://www.julianbrowne.com/article/software-economics/Software Economics2013-12-03T00:00:00+00:002013-12-03T00:00:00+00:00Julian Browne
Everything large companies do to fund software projects is wrong. Large capital investments and a misguided attempt to separate 'software' from 'business' leads to poor requirements management, information arbitrage, and a general lack of diligence around budgets.
https://www.julianbrowne.com/article/rockstars/No More Rock Stars2013-10-29T00:00:00+00:002013-10-29T00:00:00+00:00Julian Browne
Real rockstars can be assholes. That may be annoying but we tolerate it because we prioritise their art over their behaviour. This should not be the case with rock star developers. It's time to say goodbye to the notion that they produce good code or help our industry in any way.
https://www.julianbrowne.com/article/the-lean-architect/The Lean Architect2013-03-18T00:00:00+00:002013-03-18T00:00:00+00:00Julian Browne
Contrary to popular belief, the concepts of lean delivery and architecture are not mutually exclusive. The practices of architecture design are in many senses wasteful, but waste isn't a simple thing to define. Many types of wasteful activity are in fact highly valuable in the longer term.
https://www.julianbrowne.com/article/big-data-deception/The Big Data Deception2013-02-10T00:00:00+00:002013-02-10T00:00:00+00:00Julian Browne
Big data is going to be awesome for the few select industries that have the skills and the need for it. But they are few and far between. Most of the others will just jump on the Big Data bandwagon as the next in a long line of money wasters that introduce more complexity into the enterprise.
https://www.julianbrowne.com/article/inevitability-of-evil/The Inevitability of Evil2013-02-07T00:00:00+00:002013-02-07T00:00:00+00:00Julian Browne
Why are big companies so often seen as evil. Is corporate evil inevitable? Small companies don't seem to be tarnished with the evil brush. So is it related to how we view growth and is there a limit at which corporations should just stop growing and leave room for others to step in.
https://www.julianbrowne.com/article/easter-bunny/The Grand High Order of the Easter Bunny2012-09-01T00:00:00+01:002012-09-01T00:00:00+01:00Julian Browne
Open source doesn't just work because it's better quality (generally) than closed source software. It works because it's far easier to weave knowledge of it into an organisation. If everybody can use it then anybody can become expert in it. The lack of licenses, training, etc demystifies and democratises software which massively improves it's changes of long term success in the business.
https://www.julianbrowne.com/article/the-new-new-tool/The New New Tool2011-11-05T00:00:00+00:002011-11-05T00:00:00+00:00Julian Browne
A change story for everyday folk. Any similarities to projects ongoing or past are entirely intentional.
https://www.julianbrowne.com/article/nosql-in-the-enterprise/NoSQL in the Enterprise2011-07-31T00:00:00+01:002011-07-31T00:00:00+01:00Julian Browne
Part two of series on NoSQL in the enterprise. This one specifically looks at MongoDB and all it's nuances and how these were managed in a corporate development setting.
https://www.julianbrowne.com/article/freedom-from-the-tyranny-of-schemas/Freedom from the Tyranny of Schemas2011-07-30T00:00:00+01:002011-07-30T00:00:00+01:00Julian Browne
This article, based on commercial experience, takes a pragmatic look at NoSQL and its fit with the conservative world of corporate IT. It covers how NoSQL products sit alongside relational alternatives, some of the issues experienced in breaking resistance to the concept, and how to overcome them.
https://www.julianbrowne.com/article/attraction-of-laws/The Attraction of Laws2011-06-05T00:00:00+01:002011-06-05T00:00:00+01:00Julian Browne
A short treatise on some of the most relevant eponymous laws as they may apply to the field of software engineering.
https://www.julianbrowne.com/article/secret-sauce/The Secret Sauce2011-05-29T00:00:00+01:002011-05-29T00:00:00+01:00Julian Browne
Great software requires an understanding of the secret sauce that goes into making it. Enterprises that fall down when it comes to great architectures can also tap into this recipe. It turns out that architecture needs and good agile practices are actually one and the same.
https://www.julianbrowne.com/article/crisis-over/Crisis Over2011-01-30T00:00:00+00:002011-01-30T00:00:00+00:00Julian Browne
Software development projects have problems, but software development doesn't.
https://www.julianbrowne.com/article/ungoverning-the-business/Ungoverning the Business2010-11-13T00:00:00+00:002010-11-13T00:00:00+00:00Julian Browne
Standards in enterprise IT aren't just irrelevent, they're devisive, dangerous and they restrict progress. You don't need governance and you don't need standards. You need checkpoints in the process you already have and a community that determines its own accepted practices and keeps them alive.
https://www.julianbrowne.com/article/hammer-time/Hammer Time2010-05-17T00:00:00+01:002014-05-13T00:00:00+01:00Julian Browne
IT in big corporates has become so afraid of making mistakes that hardly anybody will stand up and say following corporate platform standards, or waterfall design, might not be the best approach. This is a post in favour of (some) tool-first thinking.
https://www.julianbrowne.com/article/strained-relationships/Strained Relationships2009-11-03T00:00:00+00:002009-11-03T00:00:00+00:00Julian Browne
Just what is all this fuss about NoSQL? Is the relational database dead? Or are we just in need of alternative options to solve a new breed of problem?
https://www.julianbrowne.com/article/law-and-order/Law and Order2009-08-29T00:00:00+01:002009-08-29T00:00:00+01:00Julian Browne
Has Enterprise Architecture had its day? All rise. The court is in session.
https://www.julianbrowne.com/article/quixotics-anonymous/Quixotics Anonymous 2009-07-25T00:00:00+01:002009-07-25T00:00:00+01:00Julian Browne
Quixotics Anonymous a special interest group for the down at heart in corporate IT. Patron Saint: C. Northcote Parkinson.
https://www.julianbrowne.com/article/gangsta-scale/Gangstas Don't Scale2009-06-19T00:00:00+01:002009-06-19T00:00:00+01:00Julian Browne
Enterprise integration had a tendency about ten years ago to be all asynchronous. Enterprise Architects, seduced by talk of cheap limitless scale from vendors, installed message based middeware everywhere. But asynchrony has some important constraints that aren't always obvious. This article illustrates one of these constraints using an example from The Wire TV show.
https://www.julianbrowne.com/article/walking-the-walk/Walking the Walk2009-05-05T00:00:00+01:002009-05-05T00:00:00+01:00Julian Brownehttps://www.julianbrowne.com/article/estimation-game/The Estimation Game2009-04-05T00:00:00+01:002009-04-05T00:00:00+01:00Julian Browne
Much of what happens during portfolio planning is just wasting time on a wistful mirage.
https://www.julianbrowne.com/article/tactegic-stractical/Was that Tactegic or Stractical?2009-03-08T00:00:00+00:002009-03-08T00:00:00+00:00Julian Browne
When there's a clash of opinion on whether to go strategic or tactical, do not waste time debating how you could do the tactical first then deploy the strategic option later. It. Never. Happens.
https://www.julianbrowne.com/article/planning-the-plan/Planning the Plan2009-01-25T00:00:00+00:002009-01-25T00:00:00+00:00Julian Browne
Portfolio planning and the McFarlan Matrix in action.
https://www.julianbrowne.com/article/brewers-cap-theorem/Brewer's CAP Theorem2009-01-11T00:00:00+00:002009-01-11T00:00:00+00:00Julian Browne
An explanation of Eric Brewer's CAP theorem, which says you cannot have more than two of Consistency, Availability and Partition-tolerance in web-based distributed systems.
https://www.julianbrowne.com/article/super-geek-top-ten/The Super-Geek Top Ten2008-12-30T00:00:00+00:002008-12-30T00:00:00+00:00Julian Browne
A super-geek top ten, exploring the more human side of some of the greatest computer scientists in history.
https://www.julianbrowne.com/article/event-driven-architecture/The Event-Driven Architecture2008-12-07T00:00:00+00:002008-12-07T00:00:00+00:00Julian Browne
An introduction to the event-driven architecture and the subject of complex event processing as they apply to business.
https://www.julianbrowne.com/article/wife-swapping-art-conflict/Wife Swapping and the Art of Conflict2008-11-22T00:00:00+00:002008-11-22T00:00:00+00:00Julian Browne
Great results requires great leadership, which is less about trying to get people to reach consensus than enabling productive conflict via the gift of the wife swap pattern.
https://www.julianbrowne.com/article/role-models-services/Role Models and Services2008-11-09T00:00:00+00:002008-11-09T00:00:00+00:00Julian Browne
Successful SOA is about being able to define real services and not confusing them with interfaces. The secret to services is roles.
https://www.julianbrowne.com/article/systemic-requirements/Systemic Requirements2008-11-01T00:00:00+00:002008-11-01T00:00:00+00:00Julian Browne
Non-functional requirements, system constraints and qualities, systemic requirements. Whatever you call them, here they are.
https://www.julianbrowne.com/article/solution-maturity/Solution Maturity2008-10-28T00:00:00+00:002008-10-28T00:00:00+00:00Julian Browne
Design, or Technical, Debt is receiving growing acceptance in the development community as a useful and practical metaphor. This article shows how it can be used as a measure of solution maturity at the enterprise level in corporate environments.
https://www.julianbrowne.com/article/fp-pt2/Make room for Functional Programming (2)2008-10-12T00:00:00+01:002008-10-12T00:00:00+01:00Julian Browne
The second of two parts explaining the main concepts of functional programming: this time through a worked example.
https://www.julianbrowne.com/article/fp-pt1/Make room for Functional Programming (1)2008-08-25T00:00:00+01:002008-08-25T00:00:00+01:00Julian Browne
The first of a two-part article explaining all the main concepts of functional programming: from lambda functions, to closures, to continuations, to monads.
https://www.julianbrowne.com/article/the-reuse-fairy/Dancing with the Reuse Fairy2008-08-13T00:00:00+01:002008-08-13T00:00:00+01:00Julian Browne
This is the story of the software reuse fairy. She comes and goes, seducing some, and annoying others. She is real, but there are good reasons not to believe.
https://www.julianbrowne.com/article/third-way/Embracing the Third Way2008-08-04T00:00:00+01:002008-08-04T00:00:00+01:00Julian Browne
There's still too much fervour around open source vs commercial software. One isn't better than the other, and both are here to stay. Harmony lies not with the communities, but with the users and IT leaders who need to accept their responsibilities to make both prosper.
https://www.julianbrowne.com/article/change-antipattern/10 Reasons Change is an Antipattern2008-07-09T00:00:00+01:002008-07-09T00:00:00+01:00Julian Browne
Everybody's talking about change: Change Programmes, Embracing Change, Championing Change. Here are ten reasons you might want to avoid change and just improve instead.
https://www.julianbrowne.com/article/pragmatic-strategy/Strategy for the Irretrievably Pragmatic2008-07-05T00:00:00+01:002008-07-05T00:00:00+01:00Julian Browne
Strategy has a bad name with some, being seen as the preserve of talking shops and consultants. But a good strategy, well-applied, can be the making of a company. It's not possible to say what the right strategy is for all businesses, but there are some good rules for applying it. This article looks at why the most pragmatic people are often the best creators of strategy and how it's as much about bottom-up thinking as it is about future vision.
https://www.julianbrowne.com/article/abc-esb/The ABC of the ESB2008-06-24T00:00:00+01:002008-06-24T00:00:00+01:00Julian Browne
IT people must be some of the cleverest and expensive in the world. Or at least that the theory. And yet we are constantly falling for the emperors new clothes in the form of next-big-things whilst discarding what we have, even the bits of what we have that work. The answer lies in understanding the history of how we got to where we got to and, unfortunately, accepting that some things are hard work and we have to do it.
https://www.julianbrowne.com/article/magnificence-mundane/Magnificence in the Mundane2008-06-14T00:00:00+01:002008-06-14T00:00:00+01:00Julian Browne
Relationships between IT departments and business customers are not unlike real world friendships. If you can see what works with your friends you can apply it in business. And it's mostly about conversations. If you can talk, you have a good chance of resolving anything. As professionals in a complex subject area it's always tempting to look for sophisticated answers to problems, but by focusing on the common sense basics of how we structure ourselves and how we act we can deliver better software. When we do that we cease to be something distinct from the business and we can stop talking about business/IT alignment and get on with doing what we do best.
https://www.julianbrowne.com/article/the-interview-pt1/The Interview - Part One2008-06-05T00:00:00+01:002008-06-05T00:00:00+01:00Julian Browne
Interviewing is a vastly underrated skill, and yet if you can do it well it brings you the best of all rewards - good people to work with. This is part one of a two-part article looking at effective candidate filtering, interviewing techniques and questions that work for technology roles.
https://www.julianbrowne.com/article/change-steps/Change Steps2008-05-16T00:00:00+01:002008-05-16T00:00:00+01:00Julian Browne
The last of three articles about change programmes. This one assumes that you have got to the point where you have to have one (the two previous articles explained why generally they are not a good idea). If issues have been left to fester for too long though sometimes you have no choice. This article proposes a way to run a change programme that is effective with the minimum amount of paperwork and fuss. A change programme that makes changes. What a novel idea that is.
https://www.julianbrowne.com/article/scalability/Scalability2008-04-28T00:00:00+01:002008-04-28T00:00:00+01:00Julian Brownehttps://www.julianbrowne.com/article/agile-fallacies/The Fallacies of Agile2008-04-26T00:00:00+01:002008-04-26T00:00:00+01:00Julian Browne
The Agile approach is great when applied appropriately, but the concept is nothing new. In fact it goes so far back it shares its roots with the waterfall method. But Agile got a cool name in 2001 (before that it was just working closely with the customer in an iterative fashion, which wasn't anywhere near as catchy) and was jumped upon by consultants and cowboy coders. This article looks at just some of the common fallacies that have grown up around this peculiar buzzword.
https://www.julianbrowne.com/article/scooby-doo/What would Scooby do?2008-03-21T00:00:00+00:002008-03-21T00:00:00+00:00Julian Browne
How change programmes usually go once the consultants turn up. These are the warning signs to look out for. All found by deep reading the masterful and authoritative canon that is the work of Scooby Doo.
https://www.julianbrowne.com/article/retep-principle/The Retep Principle2008-03-11T00:00:00+00:002008-03-11T00:00:00+00:00Julian Brownehttps://www.julianbrowne.com/article/foundations/Foundations2008-02-12T00:00:00+00:002023-02-21T00:00:00+00:00Julian Browne
Packaging up delivery work for the annual plan is tricky. You don't want huge programmes that spend a fortune and lose their way, but equally too many small projects will likely dupllicate work and create a communication nightmare. What you need is a mix of business-outcome driven initiatives supported by a small number of carefully scoped foundational projects. Here's how.
https://www.julianbrowne.com/article/analysis-business/The Analysis Business2008-01-30T00:00:00+00:002008-01-30T00:00:00+00:00Julian Browne
A look at business requirements from a functional and non-functional perspective, concluding that partitioning requirements up into arbitrary categories isn't very helpful as it reinforces the subjective politics we need to get away from.
https://www.julianbrowne.com/article/nature-of-functionality/The Nature Of Functionality2008-01-16T00:00:00+00:002008-01-16T00:00:00+00:00Julian Browne
A look at the potential subjectivity of business requirements and how to spot it.
https://www.julianbrowne.com/article/shortest-path/Dijkstra's Shortest Path2008-01-15T00:00:00+00:002015-05-23T00:00:00+01:00Julian Browne
A visually interactive exploration of Dijkstra's Shortest Path Algorithm.
https://www.julianbrowne.com/article/measuring-architecture/Measuring Architecture2008-01-03T00:00:00+00:002008-01-03T00:00:00+00:00Julian Browne
A short walk around the discipline of enterprise architecture. What it is, why it's good, and how you know if it's working.
https://www.julianbrowne.com/article/transformation-trouble/The Trouble with Transformations2007-12-11T00:00:00+00:002007-12-11T00:00:00+00:00Julian Browne
IT and Business transformations and change programs are very fashionable. But most often, you don't need one. You just need to sort your problems out via better leadership.
https://www.julianbrowne.com/article/vision/Reality Street ain't got no Vision2007-11-29T00:00:00+00:002007-11-29T00:00:00+00:00Julian Browne
The second of a two-part piece on reality and vision. This article puts the case that it's all very well thinking about the right now, but without a vision it means nothing.
https://www.julianbrowne.com/article/governance-apparition/The Governance Apparition2007-11-26T00:00:00+00:002007-11-26T00:00:00+00:00Julian Browne
Financial governance? Project governance? Architecture governance? Service governance? All just distractions that prevent us from seeing that we just need a reasonable process.
https://www.julianbrowne.com/article/death-of-architecture/The Death of Architecture2007-11-16T00:00:00+00:002007-11-16T00:00:00+00:00Julian Browne
The first of a two-parter that looks at enterprise architecture and reality. One thing to get straight, to make architecture effective, is to realise that it is, in and of itself, a mirage. It's just an idea with no value until it's made real.
https://www.julianbrowne.com/article/loose-coupling/A Loose Coupling Strategy2007-10-18T00:00:00+01:002007-10-18T00:00:00+01:00Julian Browne
Sometimes (or maybe all the time) you've got to make architecture count quickly. There's no time, or buy-in, to any longer term visionary fluff. In these cases refactoring is your friend.
https://www.julianbrowne.com/article/anger-management-design-debt/Enterprise Design Debt2007-10-08T00:00:00+01:002007-10-08T00:00:00+01:00Julian Browne
The concept of design, or technical, debt is fairly well covered around the web. This article looks at how all that debt being created on projects might be wrapped up and managed from an enterprise perspective.
https://www.julianbrowne.com/article/build-buy/Build or Buy. Or Customise and Confuse2007-10-03T00:00:00+01:002007-10-03T00:00:00+01:00Julian Browne
A short article on why thinking in simplistic terms like buy or build your software is dangerous. There are some good rules that should determine which is right for which situation. Both are necessary, but buying when you really should be building can be a major mistake.
https://www.julianbrowne.com/article/the-requirements-delusion/The Requirements Delusion2007-09-29T00:00:00+01:002007-09-29T00:00:00+01:00Julian Browne
Successful IT requires that you educate your business into getting the best from its technology capability by exploring the possibilities, not blindly trying to meet their requirements.
https://www.julianbrowne.com/article/decoder-game/Frequency Analysis Decoder2007-09-27T00:00:00+01:002023-02-12T00:00:00+00:00Julian Browne
A basic game that encrypts a random piece of text using a substitution cypher and lets you use frequency analysis to decode it.
https://www.julianbrowne.com/article/soa-myths/SOA Myth and Mystery2007-09-20T00:00:00+01:002007-09-20T00:00:00+01:00Julian Browne
SOA can be dangerous if it's seen (or sold) as a panacea. Like any IT design approach it's hard to get right. Put all your success eggs in your SOA basket at your peril.
https://www.julianbrowne.com/article/business-alignment-fallacy/The Business Alignment Fallacy2007-09-19T00:00:00+01:002007-09-19T00:00:00+01:00Julian Browne
Business alignment is a hot topic in IT. Here I put forward the idea that attempting to align IT and the business is a fruitless exercise, because alignment is a fallacious concept. Everyone in the organisation is the business. IT is therefore already aligned. What's needed is talk about possible capabilities, not talk of alignment.
https://www.julianbrowne.com/article/fractal-amplification-part-one/Fractal Amplification (1)2007-08-31T00:00:00+01:002007-08-31T00:00:00+01:00Julian Browne
Good coding, and ultimately good architecture, is about a very very very simple concept - putting the right thing in the right place.
https://www.julianbrowne.com/article/teamwork/No C in Teamwork2007-08-15T00:00:00+01:002007-08-15T00:00:00+01:00Julian Browne
It's easy to confuse teamwork and success. They aren't always the same. Sometimes to be successful you have to suspend your own needs to work towards a greater good, which in the end is better for everybody.
https://www.julianbrowne.com/article/kill-your-children/Kill Your Children2007-08-14T00:00:00+01:002007-08-14T00:00:00+01:00Julian Browne
Selling new ideas, especially ones with a technology basis, can be difficult. People get bored so quickly with technology presentations, and yet they will sit through a two-hour film without any difficulty. It's all about narratology.
https://www.julianbrowne.com/article/managing-people/Managing People2007-08-07T00:00:00+01:002007-08-07T00:00:00+01:00Julian Browne
We all have to face that stay-technical or manage decision at some point in our IT careers. But why not both? Are not the best managers those that retain a feel for what IT is all about?
https://www.julianbrowne.com/article/nfrs/Non-Functional Requirements2007-08-01T00:00:00+01:002007-08-01T00:00:00+01:00Julian Brownehttps://www.julianbrowne.com/article/hold-on-a-tick/Hold on a tick2007-07-18T00:00:00+01:002007-07-18T00:00:00+01:00Julian Browne
People like their systems to be fast. It's because we hate to wait. In software sometimes there are delays, but they don't have to be annoying.
https://www.julianbrowne.com/article/megaprojects/Megaprojects2007-07-04T00:00:00+01:002007-07-04T00:00:00+01:00Julian Browne
Don't get seduced. When it comes to projects, big is most certainly not better. It's a recipe for disaster.
https://www.julianbrowne.com/article/interface-catalogue/Interface Catalogue2007-07-01T00:00:00+01:002007-07-01T00:00:00+01:00Julian Browne
A template for capturing interfaces between applications on a project. Quite simple, but very effective for planning and communication.
https://www.julianbrowne.com/article/amdahls-law/Amdahl's Law2007-06-28T00:00:00+01:002023-02-20T00:00:00+00:00Julian Browne
A simple calculator to explore the implications of Amdahl's Law on business processes.
https://www.julianbrowne.com/article/space-based-archetypes/Space-based Archetypes2007-06-27T00:00:00+01:002007-06-27T00:00:00+01:00Julian Browne
The third of three articles on the space-based architecture. This one looks at how the patterns of SBA deployment naturally lend themselves to supporting systemic requirements.
https://www.julianbrowne.com/article/space-based-agility/Space-based Agility2007-06-25T00:00:00+01:002007-06-25T00:00:00+01:00Julian Browne
The second of three articles on spaced-based architecture. This one explains why using SBA can make you more agile.
https://www.julianbrowne.com/article/space-based-architecture-example/Space-based Architecture2007-06-06T00:00:00+01:002007-06-06T00:00:00+01:00Julian Browne
The first of three articles on the space-based architecture. This one describes what the SBA approach is all about.
https://www.julianbrowne.com/article/the-little-language/The Little Language2007-05-28T00:00:00+01:002007-05-28T00:00:00+01:00Julian Browne
A short word about domain specific languages and why they might hold much promise for software development, business relations, and effective reuse.
https://www.julianbrowne.com/article/doing-it-right-doing-it-wrong/Doing it right can mean doing it wrong2007-05-23T00:00:00+01:002007-05-23T00:00:00+01:00Julian Browne
It's really easy to get so hung up on principles like DRY, YAGNI, KISS, etc that we can't even write a line of code for fear that it might be picked apart by the purists. Relax. Sometimes you should write poorly structured code to see where your going, as long as you track it and can fix it later.
https://www.julianbrowne.com/article/lispians/Lispians2007-05-01T00:00:00+01:002007-05-01T00:00:00+01:00Julian Browne
A quick look at Lisp to see if there's any truth to the intellectual hype.
https://www.julianbrowne.com/article/idiom-idiot/The Idiom and the Idiot2007-04-21T00:00:00+01:002007-04-21T00:00:00+01:00Julian Browne
Finding an agile architecture requires thinking and acting like your business, not clinging to the supposed tenets of best practice.
https://www.julianbrowne.com/article/outsourcing-we-will-go/Outsourcing we will go2007-04-14T00:00:00+01:002007-04-14T00:00:00+01:00Julian Browne
Creating great software is difficult. But it's the realisation of everything marketing and branding talk about, so never, ever, ever, give it to someone else to do.
https://www.julianbrowne.com/article/methodologies-suck/Methodologies Suck2007-04-12T00:00:00+01:002007-04-12T00:00:00+01:00Julian Browne
Formally structuring what you do is great, because it helps anyone somewhat removed from the project quickly understand where you are. It also helps establish some sense of repeatability and an opportunity to continuously improve. But don't get caught up in the methodology madness.
https://www.julianbrowne.com/article/engineer/The engineer that wasn't there2007-04-10T00:00:00+01:002007-04-10T00:00:00+01:00Julian Browne
Turns out that the term software engineer, was never really meant to be adopted by coders. It was used as a challenge to developers at a NATO conference in 1968 to be more structured and methodical.
https://www.julianbrowne.com/article/narratology/Are You Sitting Comfortably?2007-04-05T00:00:00+01:002007-04-05T00:00:00+01:00Julian Browne
A brief introduction to the concepts of narratology, and why they can help you do better presentations.
https://www.julianbrowne.com/article/seeing-the-spoon/Seeing the Spoon2007-04-01T00:00:00+01:002008-01-01T00:00:00+00:00Julian Browne
A kick-off article for the site in general, or why I decided to get a few things of my chest