How GitHub, Spotify, and eBay use ADRs and Tech Radars for technology decisions (Video & Slides)

Let’s face it, roadblocks often make it challenging for software engineers to collaborate. Even within development groups that have adopted agile methodologies, coding is often a solo effort. What developer hasn’t become so immersed in a coding project that has spanned 5 cups of coffee and several missed meetings? And during that solitary affair, many developers make technology decisions, such as platform or tool selection, in a silo.

Those decisions may be okay for the engineer working by themselves, perhaps on their own project, but most career software folks are part of larger teams, in larger organizations that include product managers, quality assurance, operations, and more. In an ideal world, wouldn't it be valuable for everyone to be on the same page when it comes to the technology decisions related to the products they are going to launch or support?

A solid 10% of being an engineering manager is asking two people if they've talked to each other yet

— Adrienne Porter Felt (@__apf__) February 4, 2020

“80% Planning, 20% Coding”

Many developers grew up programming on their own, oftentimes not taking the time to develop specifications prior to jumping into a project, building it. Part of the process, the part that gets creative juices flowing, is just doing. Select technology. Try it out. Rip it out. Hack it. Tweak it. Bend it to your will. But that doesn’t really work in a functional business environment. Sure, pure innovation, such as in a hack-a-thon, has its place. But to productive development, planning must take a central role. IBM said it best, back in the reign of Rational Rose: if you spend more time planning, you waste less time coding.