🌟 Editor's Note
We’re back for our first issue of the year. Hope the first month has treated you well, with minimal chaos. We have a bunch of cool things to share, so let’s get started.
Our State of Software Architecture survey results are out. Check it out here. No drastic changes from last year (the top problem is still keeping docs up to date), but there were several interesting insights on how people are experimenting with AI for architecture.
Wondering what ChatGPT's system design might look like? Check out our latest deep dive to learn about conversation services and model proxies. Jim Highsmith (co-author of the Agile Manifesto) also dropped an insightful article on dealing with the tension of “adaptation” and “optimization” work modes.
Later this month, the IcePanel team will be in Montreal at Confoo. We’ll be hosting a chill event at a local brewery. Food, drinks, and fun will be covered. Make sure to RSVP as we have a 30-person limit.
Stay chill 🥶
📋 State of Software Architecture survey results
At the end of last year, we launched our annual survey on the State of Software Architecture. We were curious to check in with architects on their problems, cool tools, and thoughts on where things are headed.
TL;DR of results
75 people responded, with 57% being architects and 29% engineers/developers.
Most respondents were experienced professionals, with 95% being full-time employees. 68% had 6+ years of experience.
Keeping documentation up to date was overwhelmingly the biggest challenge, followed by a lack of standards and finding the right level of detail.
Diagramming tools (87%) and collaborative wikis (79%) were the most popular tools for software architecture. 44% now use AI/LLMs for documentation.
Source of truth shifted to collaborative wikis (42%), followed by dedicated tools (24%).
More than 70% were at least moderately confident using the C4 model. Context diagrams (81%) and Container diagrams (79%) were most commonly used.
AI usage is mostly experimental: 37% use it in some workflows, 33% are exploring, 19% haven’t started yet. Main uses include diagram generation, docs creation, and design validation.
Architects see their role evolving to be more strategic and quality-focused, with AI augmenting rather than replacing their work.
🧊 Design deep dives: Building ChatGPT
10% of the global population has used ChatGPT (source). Curious what system design looks like for one of the most influential apps? Check out our latest design deep dive.
Level 2 — App Diagram
🤓 Reads + finds
Beautiful Mermaid: An open source library for rendering diagrams, designed for the age of AI: beautiful-mermaid. Ultra-fast, fully themeable, and outputs to both SVG and ASCII. Check it out.
The AI Evolution of Graph Search at Netflix: Netflix explains how its graph search has evolved from structured queries toward more flexible, natural-language, and AI-driven search across the platform. Read.
Enterprise Architecture in the Age of AI: Free live event hosted by Neal Ford to understand and explore how AI is reshaping enterprise architecture. Register.
Stop Picking Sides: Jim Highsmith, co-author of the Agile Manifesto, writes about the tension between “adaptation” and “optimization”, and a framework for working across both modes. Read.
Startup Software Architecture - You Never Really Throw It Away: A conversation between David Gudeman and Michael Steifel on how to approach architecture in a startup. Read.
🗓️ IcePanel at Confoo
Jacob, Tim, and Dorian from IcePanel will be in Montreal for Confoo 🇨🇦. We’re ready to brace the frigid temps and chill out with devs and architects. Come by our booth for a limited-edition shirt.
We also have something pretty cool lined up for Pokémon fans: our very own IcePanel collector cards. Every attendee will receive 1 of 5 cards in their tote. Collect all 5 to receive an epic prize.
Collect 5 for a prize at Confoo
Stay chill,