6 books like A Practical Guide to Enterprise Architecture

By James McGovern, Scott W. Ambler, Michael E. Stevens , James Linn , Vikas Sharan , Elias K. Jo

Here are 6 books that A Practical Guide to Enterprise Architecture fans have personally recommended if you like A Practical Guide to Enterprise Architecture. Shepherd is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of The Software Architect Elevator: Redefining the Architect's Role in the Digital Enterprise

Mark Richards Author Of Fundamentals of Software Architecture: An Engineering Approach

From my list on better understanding software architecture.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve been a software architect for a very long time. I love hard problems, and I’m very passionate about collaborating with others to find the right solution to them. Software architecture is a challenging, multi-faceted discipline with very few resources to help you make the right decisions. That’s why I’m recommending these books on software architecture. These books helped me become a more effective software architect, and I hope they can help you become more effective as well.

Mark's book list on better understanding software architecture

Mark Richards Why did Mark love this book?

It is my belief that half of being an effective software architect is mastering people skills.

However soft they are, these skills are the hardest to master. This book focuses on the communication and soft skills necessary to become an effective architect, and it does it superbly. The author’s elevator metaphor is perfect in that it emphasizes the fact that communication must exist on all levels within the organization, and the skills needed at each level differ.

I personally found this book very useful in honing my communication skills as a software architect.

By Gregor Hohpe,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Software Architect Elevator as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

As the digital economy changes the rules of the game for enterprises, the role of software and IT architects is also transforming. Rather than focus on technical decisions alone, architects and senior technologists need to combine organizational and technical knowledge to effect change in their company's structure and processes. To accomplish that, they need to connect the IT engine room to the penthouse, where the business strategy is defined.

In this guide, author Gregor Hohpe shares real-world advice and hard-learned lessons from actual IT transformations. His anecdotes help architects, senior developers, and other IT professionals prepare for a more complex…


Book cover of 97 Things Every Software Architect Should Know

Mark Richards Author Of Fundamentals of Software Architecture: An Engineering Approach

From my list on better understanding software architecture.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve been a software architect for a very long time. I love hard problems, and I’m very passionate about collaborating with others to find the right solution to them. Software architecture is a challenging, multi-faceted discipline with very few resources to help you make the right decisions. That’s why I’m recommending these books on software architecture. These books helped me become a more effective software architect, and I hope they can help you become more effective as well.

Mark's book list on better understanding software architecture

Mark Richards Why did Mark love this book?

Imagine sitting in a room with 50 of the top software architects in the world and have each of them tell you some brief words of advice about being a software architect.

Welcome to “97 Things Every Software Architect Should Know”. Each 2-page spread features a top software architect offering their advice on some aspect of software architecture. From technical skills to soft skills, this book has it all.

This book is a must-read if you are a software architect, or even thinking about becoming one.

By Richard Monson-Haefel,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked 97 Things Every Software Architect Should Know as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Collective Wisdom from the Experts


Book cover of Enterprise Integration Patterns: Designing, Building, and Deploying Messaging Solutions

Mark Richards Author Of Fundamentals of Software Architecture: An Engineering Approach

From my list on better understanding software architecture.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve been a software architect for a very long time. I love hard problems, and I’m very passionate about collaborating with others to find the right solution to them. Software architecture is a challenging, multi-faceted discipline with very few resources to help you make the right decisions. That’s why I’m recommending these books on software architecture. These books helped me become a more effective software architect, and I hope they can help you become more effective as well.

Mark's book list on better understanding software architecture

Mark Richards Why did Mark love this book?

Although first published in 2004, this book continues to be my primary reference for anything related to messaging, event processing, and integration architecture.

The patterns described in this book are still highly relevant today, and are explained in a clear and concise manner that makes each one easy to understand and implement. Because you will encounter these patterns everywhere, this timeless book is a must-read book to better recognize and understand these patterns. 

By Gregor Hohpe, Bobby Woolf,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Enterprise Integration Patterns as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Enterprise Integration Patterns provides an invaluable catalog of sixty-five patterns, with real-world solutions that demonstrate the formidable of messaging and help you to design effective messaging solutions for your enterprise.

The authors also include examples covering a variety of different integration technologies, such as JMS, MSMQ, TIBCO ActiveEnterprise, Microsoft BizTalk, SOAP, and XSL. A case study describing a bond trading system illustrates the patterns in practice, and the book offers a look at emerging standards, as well as insights into what the future of enterprise integration might hold.

This book provides a consistent vocabulary and visual notation framework to describe…


Book cover of Just Enough Software Architecture: A Risk-Driven Approach

Mark Richards Author Of Fundamentals of Software Architecture: An Engineering Approach

From my list on better understanding software architecture.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve been a software architect for a very long time. I love hard problems, and I’m very passionate about collaborating with others to find the right solution to them. Software architecture is a challenging, multi-faceted discipline with very few resources to help you make the right decisions. That’s why I’m recommending these books on software architecture. These books helped me become a more effective software architect, and I hope they can help you become more effective as well.

Mark's book list on better understanding software architecture

Mark Richards Why did Mark love this book?

Why should you spend so much time working on the software architecture of a system? Does it really matter?

This book made me realize that not all systems need the same effort of software architecture to make them successful. If you’re building a doghouse, very little planning is needed—all you need is some wood, nails, a hammer, and a saw. If you are building a skyscraper, you need a significant amount of planning and architecture, or the building will collapse.

In this book the author also talks about risk-based architecture—determining how much architecture is needed based on risk, a perspective I found very helpful in my career as an architect. 

By George Fairbanks,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Just Enough Software Architecture as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

This is a practical guide for software developers, and different than other software architecture books. Here's why:

It teaches risk-driven architecting. There is no need for meticulous designs when risks are small, nor any excuse for sloppy designs when risks threaten your success. This book describes a way to do just enough architecture. It avoids the one-size-fits-all process tar pit with advice on how to tune your design effort based on the risks you face.

It democratizes architecture. This book seeks to make architecture relevant to all software developers. Developers need to understand how to use constraints as guiderails that…


Book cover of Monolith to Microservices: Evolutionary Patterns to Transform Your Monolith

Magnus Larsson Author Of Microservices with Spring Boot 3 and Spring Cloud: Build resilient and scalable microservices using Spring Cloud, Istio, and Kubernetes

From my list on mastering Java and Spring-based microservices.

Why am I passionate about this?

My passion for developing production-ready, cooperating microservices began in 2008 when I first started assisting customers in creating distributed systems—long before the term “microservices” was coined. During that time, I faced significant challenges, including grappling with the “Eight Fallacies of Distributed Computing”. Since then, I’ve dedicated most of my career to deepening my understanding of these complexities and finding ways to address them through robust architecture, design patterns, and the right tools.

Magnus' book list on mastering Java and Spring-based microservices

Magnus Larsson Why did Magnus love this book?

No matter how advanced our tools for developing resilient and scalable microservices become, the million-dollar question remains: How do we effectively break up a monolith into microservices?

This book offers excellent guidance on this challenge. I found its starting point grounded in Domain-Driven Design and its concepts like Bounded Contexts and Aggregates particularly valuable. These concepts are key to mapping microservices to a real-world domain model. I also appreciate Sam’s advice, to begin with a few relatively large microservices aligned with Bounded Contexts and only break them into smaller services when there’s a clear business case for doing so.

By Sam Newman,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Monolith to Microservices as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

How do you detangle a monolithic system and migrate it to a microservice architecture? How do you do it while maintaining business-as-usual? As a companion to Sam Newman's extremely popular Building Microservices, this new book details a proven method for transitioning an existing monolithic system to a microservice architecture.

With many illustrative examples, insightful migration patterns, and a bevy of practical advice to transition your monolith enterprise into a microservice operation, this practical guide covers multiple scenarios and strategies for a successful migration, from initial planning all the way through application and database decomposition. You'll learn several tried and tested…


Book cover of Computer Organization and Design RISC-V Edition: The Hardware Software Interface

Shimon Schocken Author Of The Elements of Computing Systems: Building a Modern Computer from First Principles

From my list on how computers work, and how they are built.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a computer science professor and educator, my teaching motto is Rigor and Vigor. I believe that the only way to learn something deeply, whether it's an abstract mathematical argument or a complex computer system – is building the thing from the ground up, from first principles. That's the rigor. The second requirement – vigor – comes from the need to make this learning experience captivating, rewarding, empowering. I spent much of my career developing books, courses, and games that help learn computer science and mathematics with gusto. I am pleased that this work has had an impact, and that it resonates with many students and self-learners around the world.

Shimon's book list on how computers work, and how they are built

Shimon Schocken Why did Shimon love this book?

Computer architectures have historically followed two paradigms: CISC (Complex Instruction Set Computing) and its later contender RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computing).

RISC processors, which presently power most smartphones, tablets, and IoT devices, were pioneered by Cocke, and later by Patterson and Hennessy – all winners of the Turing Award. Patterson and Hennessy’s classical book series Computer Organization and Design became the go-to textbooks in many academic computer architecture courses.

When reading these books, I enjoy the direct connection with the architects of the systems described. And, I appreciate the numerous insights about compilation, systems, and engineering at large, and the generous and balanced comparisons with competing, non-RISC architectures.

By David A. Patterson, John L. Hennessy,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Computer Organization and Design RISC-V Edition as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Computer Organization and Design RISC-V Edition: The Hardware Software Interface, Second Edition, the award-winning textbook from Patterson and Hennessy that is used by more than 40,000 students per year, continues to present the most comprehensive and readable introduction to this core computer science topic. This version of the book features the RISC-V open source instruction set architecture, the first open source architecture designed for use in modern computing environments such as cloud computing, mobile devices, and other embedded systems. Readers will enjoy an online companion website that provides advanced content for further study, appendices, glossary, references, links to software tools,…


Book cover of The Software Architect Elevator: Redefining the Architect's Role in the Digital Enterprise
Book cover of 97 Things Every Software Architect Should Know
Book cover of Enterprise Integration Patterns: Designing, Building, and Deploying Messaging Solutions

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