The Software Dilemma — Stepping into a New Era of Software Development

The complexity of software is continuously growing as a result of today’s interconnected business processes. Governance of architecture and technology strategy helps to ensure coherence of software and avoid excessive complexity. At the same time software development needs room for creativity and empowerment to provide solutions to business problems of increasing complexity. The book looks at this software dilemma from the perspectives of CIOs/CTOs, software architects, and auditors. Each of these groups has different interests which need to be considered, reconciled, and balanced. CIOs/CTOs are provided with the boundary conditions they have to establish assuring the achievement of strategic objectives. Architects and auditors find proven concepts for effectively assessing software projects and architectures, as well as for effectively communicating identified issues to responsible persons. The book is based on the author’s long experience in software engineering, governance, and auditing.

Dr. Roger Gutbrod is Ombudsman for Development and Vice President for SAP Architecture Audits at SAP AG in Walldorf, Germany. Dr. Roger Gutbrod studied Mathematics and Computer Science at University Wurzburg. He joined SAP in 1991 as a developer for financial applications. He has held various positions as a software developer, project lead, people manager, and chief architect. He has been a contributor on many customer projects and was responsible for many activities in industry tailored solutions, which gave him unique insights into the different aspects of software architecture. Dr. Christian Wiele is Chief Development Architect for SAP Architecture Audits at SAP AG in Walldorf, Germany. Dr. Christian Wiele studied Physics at the University of Kiel and Marburg. He received a Ph.D. in theoretical physics from the University of Essen. He joined SAP in 1999 as a technology consultant. His various positions in consulting, pre-sales support and as chief architect in development provided the basis and the experience for establishing the new concept of SAP Architecture Audits. With an entrepreneurial mind set he is constantly looking for new challenges. Christian is interested in physics, complexity theory, and jazz music.