Future-Proof Software-Systems: A Sustainable Evolution Strategy - Hardcover

Furrer, Frank J.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 3658199377 ISBN 13: 9783658199371

Publisher: Springer Vieweg, 2019

Synopsis

This book focuses on software architecture and the value of architecture in the development of long-lived, mission-critical, trustworthy software-systems. The author introduces and demonstrates the powerful strategy of “Managed Evolution,” along with the engineering best practice known as “Principle-based Architecting.” The book examines in detail architecture principles for e.g., Business Value, Changeability, Resilience, and Dependability. 

The author argues that the software development community has a strong responsibility to produce and operate useful, dependable, and trustworthy software. Software should at the same time provide business value and guarantee many quality-of-service properties, including security, safety, performance, and integrity. As Dr. Furrer states, “Producing dependable software is a balancing act between investing in the implementation of business functionality and investing in the quality-of-service properties of the software-systems.” 

The book presents extensive coverage of such concepts as: 

• Principle-Based Architecting 
  
• Managed Evolution Strategy
  
• The Future 
  
• Principles for Business Value 
  
• Legacy Software Modernization/Migration 
  
• Architecture Principles for Changeability 
  
• Architecture Principles for Resilience 
  
• Architecture Principles for Dependability 
  

The text is supplemented with numerous figures, tables, examples and illustrative quotations. Future-Proof Software-Systems provides a set of good engineering practices, devised for integration into most software development processes dedicated to the creation of software-systems that incorporate Managed Evolution.

About this title

About the Author

Frank J. Furrer graduated as an electrical engineer at the Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule in Zürich, Switzerland and earned his Ph.D. from the same institution. Afterward, he was active in the industry as an entrepreneur, as an architect, and as a management consultant for Information Technology and IT Systems Architectures. Since 2013, he  teaches as an honorary professor at the Technische Universität Dresden, Germany (Faculty for Computer Science). This book represents the distilled outcomes of his long professional career as a software-systems architect, consultant, author, and educator.  

From the Back Cover

Software is a crucial success factor for most of today’s products and services. The tremendous impact of software on all areas of our jobs, lives, the environment and on society is undisputed and is growing every day. 

The software community has a responsibility to produce and operate useful, dependable, and trustworthy software. The software should at the same time provide business value and guarantee a number of quality of service properties, such as security, safety, performance, integrity, etc. 

The lion’s share of current software investment is not for greenfield creation, but for the extension and evolution of existing software-systems. These systems are often very large, mission-critical, and long-lived. They need to be sustainable, both commercially and qualitatively. We call these “future-proof software-systems.” 

Experience has shown that a first-rate architecture is the foundation of future-proof software-systems. Therefore, the focus of this book is on architecture and architecture’s value for long-lived, mission-critical, trustworthy systems. 

This objective is achieved by using: 

• The powerful evolution strategy “Managed Evolution”; 

• The engineering best practice “Principle-Based Architecting”. 

Managed Evolution is based on a stepwise, risk-controlled, integrated approach leading to future-proof software-systems. In principle-based architecting, a set of proven, enforceable architecture principles are formulated and applied during each evolution cycle of the software-system. Following these architecture principles leads to the creation, evolution, and maintenance of superior, valuable architectures. 

This book does not represent a new development methodology but instead provides a set of good engineering practices that can be integrated into most development processes for the development of future-proof software-systems. 

About the Author 

Frank J. Furrer graduated as an electrical engineer at the Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule in Zürich, Switzerland and earned his Ph.D. from the same institution. Afterward, he was active in the industry as an entrepreneur, as an architect, and as a management consultant for Information Technology and IT Systems Architectures. Since 2013, he  teaches as an honorary professor at the Technische Universität Dresden, Germany (Faculty for Computer Science). This book represents the distilled outcomes of his long professional career as a software-systems architect, consultant, author, and educator.  

Edition details

• Publisher: Springer Vieweg
• Publication date: 2019
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 3658199377
• ISBN 13: 9783658199371
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 413