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What’s the point?
Architecture documents are for you, not for everyone else
* Adds structure to chaos * Makes feedback progressive rather than regressive * You get to tell people to “Read The Friendly Manual”
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But there’s so much boilerplate!
So don’t fill out the useless parts...
* Delete sections that aren’t relevant * If there’s a better format, just do it that way * Complain to <template owner> if the template is silly
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The requirements are too ill-defined to write down
I’m sure writing code will solve the problem then. /sarcasm
* This is exactly why architecture documents are helpful * Just barf out some bad requirements and ask for feedback * If no one has any ideas, we’ve got bigger problems
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I’m the one writing the code, back off!
Software engineers are experts about everything and tend to have opinions.
* Enumerate alternative approaches and politely explain why they are dumb * Detail out the chosen approach * When in doubt, write out function signatures
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When is enough enough?
When it starts to feel passive aggressive
* Writing code without an architecture doc is speculative * “Wasting” 30 minutes on a doc can save hours in a PR * I’ve never regretted writing an architecture document
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Super Fun Activity Time
Whatever you’re currently working on, write an architecture doc for it.
(If you already have one, quit wasting time and go write code!)
You have 15 minutes!
