I have been spending a lot of time thinking about testers and XP lately. It has caused me to start thinking about other typical roles and their place in XP. So, what about software architects and XP?

The short answer is that they have no place. I say this with some confidence, as I used to consider myself a software architect. (Over the last few years I have become less and less comfortable with associating myself with the moniker.)

The incompatibility comes from the basic assumption software architecture makes: you can successfully design an architecture for a system in upfront fashion. Besides being in direct contradiction to the practices and principles of XP, it is practically flawed. Software needs to change. In my experience, most people are very hesitant to change that which they have made large upfront investments in. I've seen (and at times unfortunately architected) systems where the architecture became an impediment; it had to be overcome and accommodated as the system evolved.

This doesn't mean software architects should be fired from an XP project. They will, however, have to change their perspective and work habits. On an XP team, they will be "just" another developer. Their architecture expertise will be utilized as they pair with other developers.

In my opinion this is actually liberating for the whole team. First, there isn't the elitist notion of hierarchal roles on the team. Furthermore, as with a technical lead, there is an assumption and pressure that the architect knows all the answers. In XP, this myth doesn't have to be maintained; the architect can now offer their advice and expertise when appropriate and defer to that of others when appropriate. In XP the architecture evolves and is owned by the team, not one person or group.

I can sympathize with the allure of software architecture. It can be very satisfying to create an elegant design solution for software. But it is also frustrating and stressful to watch the once-pristine architecture get band-aided and fail as needs change. Ultimately, I am a pragmatist. I would much rather construct working software than pretty diagrams.