Beyond Software Architecture: Creating and Sustaining Winning Solutions

Beyond Software Architecture should be required reading for anyone starting a software company - that is unless one prefers the school of hard knocks! Luke does a fabulous job of going beyond the many books written on software and technology and beyond the many books, classes, and seminars addressing how to create a successful startup and get funded. Hohmann's keen insight and practical advice can make an enormous difference for any group of bright and knowledgeable software engineers and/or visionary entrepreneurs with the "killer" application - a difference that can mean success. He clearly defines the space between the technology and the market and draws them together so that technologist and business person alike can gain a necessary understanding for what it takes to bring to market and sustain a successful software product.I wish that this book had been available ten years ago and that I had read it!

There must be hundreds of books on the software developmental process, but I have yet to see a book that covers the business, technical marketing, sales cycle, deployment cycle, release cycle, licensing, installation, upgrade cycle, and everything in the middle all in one compact book. This book TRULY covers the life of a software application and everyone involved in it. For us techies, this book starts with what we are familiar with: "Why software architecture matters?" The author starts with a general overview of the topic, but it goes much further into the non-technical details software architecture, such as the Social Structure aspect:"A good architecture works for the team that created it. It leverages strengths and can, at times, minimize their weaknesses. ... Once created, the architecture in turn exhibits a strong influence on the team. No matter what language you've chosen, you have to mold the development team around it because it affects such as things as your hiring and training policies."New comers to the architect world don't really think about such aspects, or at least it's not really high on priority on many people's lists. The author puts such things right next to profitability, stability of the architecture, and defining the technical boundaries. Granted that Social Structure aspect of the architecture is as important as the others, you can't really find many books out there that treat it as such. Personal experience teaches us that, but there are cases, many cases, that one doesn't have the luxury of "trial and error". The author takes great pride in his experience and has written this book like a personal assistance to a newbie to the job, and to the expert architect with topics such as branding issues, licensing affects on the overall architecture and more... Tarchitecture and Markitecture are two words/concepts that are used frequently throughout this book. The author starts with the inception of software applications and explains the important rule that Market Architecture (Markitecture) and Product Management have in the overall picture of a software lifecycle. Why Business plan is important and how it should be written, how to release version 1.0 and subsequent versions, how customer input and interaction with the markitects play the most important rule in the subsequent releases of your software, and other such important questions are covered in chapters 2 and 3. The chapter Software License and Licensing models is probably one of the most valuable chapter (chapter 4) in the entire book. The author describes the concept of licensing and how it fits into the overall architecture and how it affects the architecture very elegantly. Various licensing models and their pros and cons are described:· Time based· Transaction based· OEM bases· Metering style· Hardware based· Services based· Revenue Obtained/Costs saved.The author explains why it is important to select the right licensing model, and how and why it co

By exposing the many practical connections between business and technical architecture, this terrific book illuminates in lucid detail how software products can transcend code to become successful solutions. It should be required reading for architects and product managers alike working on any software-related product. Many technical architects master (or at least aspire to master) technical construction, abstract design patterns and principles, languages, platforms, and methodologies; yet even the true master architects among us often remain weak at understanding the business models that must be crafted alongside the technical artifacts that we produce. As a result, the architect's brilliantly-crafted technology too often fails to become a winning solution.Luke's practical experience with business models and technical models -- and more importantly, for how they intersect -- has led to a vision that is sharp and wise, and he shares this vision in a remarkably friendly, lucid manner. This book is simply a must-read for all those who build software, if that software aims to become a successful and winning solution.

This book delivers on its promise to discuss the larger business realities of creating software products. If you're a software architect, or dream of being one, this is a must read book. Appropriately, it eschews the details of implementation, and focuses mainly on the business issues an architect must focus on to succeed. It works from the assumption that the reader has done a fair bit of design work, and now wants to create software architectures that will last for multiple releases. Luke expands your horizons to include new areas you probably have not have considered.The book is nicely segmented into logical chapters, making it an excellent reference. Although it covers classic architecture issues such as portability, usability, performance, layering, API design, and security, the truly valuable material is on the business and product management side of the fence, which often get ignored, or left till late in the process. For instance, the installation "out of the box" experience, planning your upgrade strategy, technology licensing, branding, and user community discussions are incredibly valuable, as they bring together the benefit of a lot of experience in the commercial software market. It is this focus on non-traditional architecture issues that makes the book so valuable.My only issue with the book is the tone. I find it a little too academic, and I think that it detracts from the pragmatic advice given. However, the content more than makes up for this minor lack. If you're ready to move to the next level of architecture or pondering a new software product design, check this book out.

This book delivers on its promise to discuss the larger business realities of creating software products. If you're a software architect, or dream of being one, this is a must read book. Appropriately, it eschews the details of implementation, and focuses mainly on the business issues an architect must focus on to succeed. It works from the assumption that the reader has done a fair bit of design work, and now wants to create software architectures that will last for multiple releases. Luke expands your horizons to include new areas you probably have not have considered.The book is nicely segmented into logical chapters, making it an excellent reference. Although it covers classic architecture issues such as portability, usability, performance, layering, API design, and security, the truly valuable material is on the business and product management side of the fence, which often get ignored, or left till late in the process. For instance, the installation "out of the box" experience, planning your upgrade strategy, technology licensing, branding, and user community discussions are incredibly valuable, as they bring together the benefit of a lot of experience in the commercial software market. It is this focus on non-traditional architecture issues that makes the book so valuable.My only issue with the book is the tone. I find it a little too academic, and I think that it detracts from the pragmatic advice given. However, the content more than makes up for this minor lack. If you're ready to move to the next level of architecture or pondering a new software product design, check this book out.