Generic or Specific? Making Sensible Software Design Decisions • Bert Jan Schrijver • GOTO 2023

This presentation was recorded at GOTO Amsterdam 2023. #GOTOcon #GOTOams https://gotoams.nl Bert Jan Schrijver - JavaOne Rockstar & Champion, NLJUG Leader & CTO at OpenValue @bjschrijver RESOURCES https://twitter.com/bjschrijver https://github.com/bertjan https://linkedin.com/in/bjschrijver ABSTRACT In software design and software architecture, we often face the question: should we build this generic or specific? Usually, this is not an easy question to answer. The answer depends on a lot of different factors, including future factors you may not be aware of - yet. In this talk, I’ll share my experiences and thought process as a developer and software architect with choosing between generic and specific solutions. I’ll talk about generic vs specific design & architecture, both on a project level and organization level. We’ll look at sharing code/components between teams, inner source culture, monorepo’s, microservices, lifecycle management of generic components and strategic design as a tool to help decide. After this talk, you’ll have practical insights that can help you to choose between generic and specific solutions yourself. [...] TIMECODES 00:00 Intro 00:34 Outline 01:07 What is software design? 01:53 Design vs architecture 02:35 Definitions 12:38 Flexibility in software 15:44 Levels of generic vs specific 18:33 Tools to help decide 27:26 The cost of a generic solution 31:40 When & why to go generic 33:45 Examples why specific often is faster 39:29 Bonus: Sharing code in an organization 42:41 Summary 44:17 Outro Download slides and read the full abstract here: https://gotoams.nl/2023/sessions/2483 RECOMMENDED BOOKS Sam Newman • Monolith to Microservices • https://amzn.to/2Nml96E Ronnie Mitra & Irakli Nadareishvili • Microservices: Up and Running • https://amzn.to/3c4HmmL Sander Hoogendoorn • This is Agile • https://amzn.to/3DkDyfr Gerald M. Weinberg • Becoming a Technical Leader • https://amzn.to/3xn87NG Kent Beck • Test Driven Development • https://amzn.to/3RXopVg https://twitter.com/GOTOcon https://www.linkedin.com/company/goto- https://www.instagram.com/goto_con https://www.facebook.com/GOTOConferences #SoftwareDesign #SoftwareArchitecture #Generic #Specific #Coupling #Flexibility #Adaptability #Microservices #Refactoring #Simplicity #BertJanSchrijver CHANNEL MEMBERSHIP BONUS Join this channel to get early access to videos & other perks: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCs_tLP3AiwYKwdUHpltJPuA/join Looking for a unique learning experience? Attend the next GOTO conference near you! Get your ticket at https://gotopia.tech Sign up for updates and specials at https://gotopia.tech/newsletter SUBSCRIBE TO OUR CHANNEL - new videos posted almost daily. https://www.youtube.com/user/GotoConferences/?sub_confirmation=1