Architect’s Bookshelf

Software Architecture in Practice

One of the seminal books on how to design systems. Now in its second edition this is one of the must reads for the IT Architect. Comes from SEI so has an excellent pedigree.

Can be found on Amazon

Design Patterns : elements of reusable object-oriented software

The famous “Gang of Four” book. For me this is the Shakespeare of software design. The Bard set out most of the core structures or patterns of storytelling. He certainly didn’t invent them all but he did bring them all together. This book does the same for how you go about designing software. I first read it it in the mid-90’s and still refer to it today. The language and concepts in it are still relevant and still usable. Sure, new patterns have been developed and new ideas published, but you can get ninety per cent of what you need in one book. For me that says it all.

Can be found on Amazon

Documenting Software Architectures: Views and Beyond

Part of the SEI collection, this book describes an approach to developing the documentation of software architectures.

For more information on this book please see the blog series.

Can be found on Amazon.