In this module we'll play a series of architecture games. In the process you will:
- Produce designs to solve problems.
- See how others solve problems.
- Explain your designs to others.
- Be challenged on your decisions.
- Have your architectures tested against potential scenarios.
Through this, I hope you will gain an appreciation for what it means to do architecture well, and in the process build a body of knowledge and skill to solve problems in the real world.
The leader leads the team. They're responsible for making decisions as to what the architecture or design is or isn't going to be.
They have the final say on all matters in the team. They also lead and chair the discussion amongst the group, calling on people they want to hear from, setting research tasks, and the discussion on when they see fit.
They also need to be mindful of the team's workload, particularly the documenter who may end up with lots to do late on in the discussion.
They are the person to present the design and respond to the challenges.
Ideators propose ideas and solutions. They're responsible for bringing and articulating to the team potential designs and their characteristics. They will likely need to research as part of this.
The challenger points out flaws, potential failures, and tradeoffs. They are responsible for discovering the deficiencies of the design and articulating them to the team.
Done well, this role frees the rest of the team to find solutions and be optimistic. The challenger must be mindful to balance allowing ideas to germinate and bad ideas to be improved, with providing the team constructive challenge.
The documenter describes the design. They are responsible for producing the diagrams and pieces of text used to present the proposed architecture.
The documenter will likely need to delegate certain parts of this to rest of the team — for example, one piece of the architecture diagram could be delegated to the ideator who proposed it.
They should rely on the leader to supervise this delegation.
Judges challenge and make judgements about the architectures presented. They are responsible for satisfying themselves of the architecture's behaviour during the gameshow's challenging events.
In the first part of the day they will circulate amongst the teams and observe the discussion without participating. They may also spend some time researching to improve their ability to challenge.
The host manages the event and makes final decisions about procedural matters or disputes to the rules of the game. They also introduce the scenarios and answer the questions posed in advance.