独家专访Fred George：架构师是使用代码作画的大师(2)

附录：问题与Fred George邮件答复内容的英文原文

1. How to define Architect

Usually, different project managers in different teams have somewhat different definitions for the term Architect. In Amazon team, what does an architect do, and what's your recruiting criteria for an architect?

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A: Effect architects are master painters of code. Recently, leading software thinkers talk about the "beauty" and "elegance" of systems. An architect is one who not only sees that beauty, but is able to create it in the systems being built. I think of systems as living organisms. Much like corporations, they need to be nurtured to grow and be healthy. Much like corporations, a system can be abused for a while (for short term gains like quick profits), but will ultimately fail if abuse lasts too long. The architect, like the CEO, understands this about their systems. They recognize abuse, understand how long the system can sustain the abuse, and guides the path back to health.

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2. Choosing the potential architect

Suppose you have 3 good programmers in your team. Programmer A tops in communication skills and team management. Programmer B tops in coding practices and theories, as well as coping with new technical skills. Programmer C tops in logical thinking and explaining abstract concepts. If you'd like one architect to come out from the three, which one would you prefer?

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A: Not everyone is capable of being an architect. Of your choices, Programmer C has the best chance of success. The conceptual skills are what I judge when seeing the ultimate potential of an individual. The rest of the needs (languages, experience, and the like) I can train. Programmer B might become a good architect; she seems to be showing the signs of conceptual understanding. If she begins to discern the patterns (beauty, elegance) that good systems have, she can make the transition. Programmer A is not a candidate. Making him an architect is treating "architect" as the promotion after "designer". That is like putting your grandfather in Formula 1 racing just because he has driven the longest. It just doesn't work. Leadership skills are important, but it is not a factor in being a good architect.

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3. From an experienced architect's point of view, what do you think are the main obstacles faced by those novice architects who just transformed from a programmer's role?

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A: If you have transformed out of a programmer role, you will have a short career as an architect. The best architects still write code. Kent Beck once wrote, "Code is when design meets the harsh reality of dawn." He was saying that all designs look pretty when we draw them, but the best design translates into elegant code. The architect that doesn't carry his vision into code will never gain the insights that our changing industry exhibits. That is why the career is short for the non-programming architect. As an architect, I will implement (with a partner for pair programming) the most difficult parts of a system. I call it "pioneering", the process where I see if an idea in my head actually is a good idea. I will always refine the idea in that first implementation. Then I feel comfortable letting the rest of the programming team follow that pattern. That is the "architecture".

I drifted from your question. The main obstacle faced by a novice architect is admitting that you don't have the detail answer, but that you are confident that you will work with the programmers and designers to find it. Another problem a new architect faces is over "beauty" and "elegance". When making choices that involve these concepts, managers are particularly skeptical of that reasoning. Managers often have short term goals, and are indifferent to beauty and elegance. Actually, they don't value keeping the system healthy for tomorrow's changes. Finally, the novice architect was probably a superior programmer. Now other programmers are contributing code that is not as pretty. The novice architect must learn what degree that ugly code can be accepted and at what point to reject it.

Architects are artists, and often their work is not appreciated during their lifetimes.