Key Considerations for Application Architecture,

Organisations continuously face forces of digital business change opposed by those of stability. They must align people and processes despite these conflicting pressures. In this article we discuss how they can build the right strategy for architecture, development, platforms, design, process automation and integration.

Key considerations

When it comes to building and improving internal competencies to create and scale differentiated and innovative digital products that support digital business demand, following topics need to be looked at:

Architecture: Patterns, principles and practices that guide the structure and emergent design of applications.
Development: The techniques, tools and technologies most directly involved in the creation of software.
Integration: Methods for exchanging information between systems, including AI-augmented integration to increase productivity and code-based integration leveraging APIs and event channels.
Process automation: Technologies for coordination and orchestration, augmented by AI, to evaluate processes, recommend actions and make decisions.
UX design: Design capabilities that are continuous and feedback-driven, including design-to-code tools that can free up resources and address communication gaps

Technology platforms

Digitalization is driving application leaders in two opposing directions. The forces of organizational and technological change — which you can’t ignore — demand corresponding advances to application technologies and processes. Meanwhile, you can’t avoid taking actions to sustain existing capabilities, and sustainability requires stability. This dichotomy — change versus stability — presents the danger of divergent and uncoordinated responses. Such responses lead to an application organization where people, tools and processes are in conflict.

Half of organisations that have experienced a severe digital disruption have emerged “fit,” with relatively fast profit and revenue growth. The most impactful attribute of fit organizations versus the other half — those that emerged “fragile” — is alignment. In other words, consistency of leadership, vision and strategy. Staying aligned is key to thriving during digitalization.

To achieve and maintain alignment, consider both your current and future application landscape. Choose new technologies and practices that build upon what you have now and lead you to your digital vision, but beware of those that suddenly isolate parts of your organization. Evaluate innovations not only on how they can move you forward, but also on how they can inadvertently hold you back by demanding more change than you’re ready for, and set a timeline for their adoption accordingly. Be prepared to say no to ideas that take one aspect of your development organization in a direction that other aspects can’t follow. Coherent evolution, not chaotic revolution, must be your path.

Application Architecture, Development, Integration and Platforms

Figure 1. Application Architecture, Development, Integration and Platforms Overview.

Digital product delivery subjects the software delivery value stream to opposing demands. The forces of change require technology and process innovation, but the need to sustain existing capabilities requires stability. In response, you need a high-performance software delivery blueprint that balances change and stability. Failure to strike the right balance risks uncoordinated and conflicting responses.

Application architecture, tools, platforms, design, process automation and integration are the fundamental elements of high-performance software delivery. Architecture patterns and principles shape the selection of tools, platforms and API-based ecosystems that enable change. They bring innovation and development to a wider audience by using low-code tools to allow nontechnical business people to engage in the design and delivery of applications while sustaining a coherent approach. Teams elevate design to a core practice and deliver multiexperience solutions that use process automation for maximum continuity. Emerging solutions have to integrate with existing assets to enable the composable enterprise. The result? You achieve coherent evolution, not chaotic revolution.

#1: Architecture

Architecture is one of the keys to alignment. Expressed as patterns and principles, realized as platforms, and applied to guide emergent design, architecture can prevent chaos. As multiexperience apps and low-code solutions proliferate, application architecture must guide the front end while evolving the back end. Mesh app and service architecture (MASA), API mediation and event-driven architecture will continue to be important aspects.