AT#4: Is Architecture the Enemy of Agile?

I have been working as a part of many Agile teams. In the beginning, whenever I introduced myself as an ‘Architect’ colleagues became mistrustful and started to perceive me as the breakman of the team. For that reason, I would never name myself an ‘architect’ again. It seems as if many hardcore agilists perceive architecture as the enemy of Agile. But is that true?

In a recent article, Harvard Business Review discusses the area of tension between strategic planning and agility, without providing ideas on how exactly to resolve this area of tension.

https://hbr.org/2018/09/planning-doesnt-have-to-be-the-enemy-of-agile

What you should do:

The current draft of the Architectural Thinking Framework suggests detailed how-tos for the following ideas:

• implement strategic planning/governance structures that implement top-down governance AND foster the participation of the many
• build strong links between architecture maps at solution level and your enterprise-wide architecture maps
• connect the requirements at solution level with the business capability map of the enterprise