Salary surveys worldwide regularly place software architect in the top 10 best jobs, yet no real guide exists to help developers become architects. Until now. This updated edition provides a comprehensive overview of software architecture’s many aspects, with five new chapters covering the latest insights from the field. Aspiring and existing architects alike will examine architectural characteristics, architectural patterns, component determination, diagramming architecture, governance, data, generative AI, team topologies, and many other topics.

Mark Richards and Neal Ford—hands-on practitioners who have taught software architecture classes professionally for years—focus on architecture principles that apply across all technology stacks. You’ll explore software architecture in a modern light, taking into account all the innovations of the past decade.

This book examines:

Architecture styles and patterns: Microservices, modular monoliths, microkernels, layered architectures, and many more
Components: Identification, coupling, cohesion, partitioning, and granularity
Soft skills: Effective team management, collaboration, business engagement models, negotiation, presentations, and more
Modernity: Engineering practices and operational approaches that have changed radically in the past few years, including cloud considerations and generative AI
Architecture as an engineering discipline: Repeatable results, metrics, and concrete valuations that add rigor to software architecture