Twist, a collaborative functional testing platform and the third commercial product in the ThoughtWorks (ALM) suite, has been made available in ‘Early Access’ (i.e. beta) mode.

SOA Software has expanded certification of the .NET Framework to include the Microsoft Managed Services Engine (MSE) as a Governed Service Platform.

ElectricCommander 3.0 enables push-button “pre-flight builds and tests”, a capability that makes continuous integration safe and reliable.

The latest release of Perforce SCM extends visual differencing functionality to images, enabling enterprise developers and engineers to manage all content with one SCM solution.

HASP SRM v 3.50 adds automatic file wrapping for Java apps and enhanced security to Aladdin’s hardware- and software-based copy protection and licensing solution.

ThoughtWorks has released Cruise, a continuous integration and release management application for Agile development teams.

Parasoft’s Application Security Solution establishes a continuous process addressing the need to deploy security verification and remediation tasks across every stage of the Software Development Lifecycle.

Enabling re-use through Component Based Development.

Moving from a generic IDE to an application-specific IDE.

Towards continuous, real-time quality feedback.

The big issue in software architecture is usually the choice between global and local implementation. Mike James explains why we tend to miss the obvious.

For the past few years service-oriented architectures have been promoted as the panacea of the IT world, but cracks in the SOA hegemony are already beginning to appear. Celona Technologies’ Tony Sceales examines the hype, hope and reality surrounding SOA, and points out some home truths that anyone embarking on a SOA programme would be well advised to take note of.

Routing and testing are key ideas in using the ASP.NET MVC. Kevin Jones explains how it works.

The business flexibility and return on investment (ROI) promised by use of a Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) can be maximised through implementation of data access ‘best practices’.

While patterns are intended to give you the bigger picture, they often fail and become bogged down in minutiae. Kevlin Henney considers the wider use of patterns as a common vocabulary.

With the release of the Microsoft MVC library, Kevin Jones thinks it’s time to look closely at the ASP.NET Model View Controller Architecture.

Could a slowdown in SOA adoption be down to bad communication, or is there a fundamental problem with concepts?

Harnessing the abilities of your team to produce innovative solutions is the key to successful large-scale products.

How do you manage the multiple services that are so much part of the SOA approach? Sing Li thinks he has found an easy-to-use framework for the job.

With the promise of a clear, uncluttered approach to IT structuring, does Business Process Management stand up to criticism?

Why is it so difficult to build web 2.0 applications? Mike James thinks that the problem is all about security.

Architects are leaders in their organizations and need to have the appropriate skills to make decisions and work with people to get work done in a timely manner. This means that an architect will need a set of “tools” in their toolkit to help get this done.

Using a managed approach to processes helps a team to achieve greater efficiency and meet the expectations of project plans.

Social computing is a rapidly growing area of interest today, driven by Web 2.0 facilities like blogs, wikis, mashups and the hugely popular social networks such as Myspace and Facebook. But away from the consumer focus, some companies are now starting to look at these technologies to see whether they can add value in a business scenario.

The advent of AJAX has radically modified the user’s perception of a Web application. This is forcing developers to apply newer and richer models to build modern Web applications. Dino Esposito takes a look at the architectural implications of what we are doing.

How to use architecture artifacts to communicate data about the specification, design, review or deployment of a project.

The benefits of Service Oriented Architecture are balanced by significant security risks, so it pays to focus on accessibility issues.

Well-implemented governance ensures that the decision-making process in an organisation benefits from strong communication links.

Installing and using the Sparx Add-In to add IDL capabilities to Enterprise Architect projects.

Robbie Gibbon explores a unique conceptual solution architecture to identity management.

The singleton is the simplest and easiest to understand design pattern, but Dave Wheeler thinks we need to give it the respect it deserves and use it with care.

Is SOA Governance a step up to improved control and more effective service management, or a confusing step sideways?

23–27 March 2009
Barbican Centre, London, UK
The 12th annual DevWeek conference includes all-day workshops on ‘Architecture Awareness’, ‘.NET Design Patterns’ and ‘From Developer to Architect’, and a dedicated 3-day conference track featuring sessions on Testing, Lean Software Development, Refactoring, Visualizations for Code Metrics, Use Cases, and Enterprise Design Patterns.

29 Sep–1 Oct 2009
Royal College of Physicians, London, UK
The third annual Software Architect conference will feature dozens of sessions on a wide range of key topics. Register your details now to receive full information about the schedule and speakers as soon as it’s available.

Parlez UML
A five-day hands-on masterclass that teaches techniques for unifying up-front design, refactoring and enterprise architecture within an iterative, lightweight, test-driven approach to development, and provides a practical means to scaling up the Agile approach.

Parity
Parity’s Technical Architecture, Integration and Development (TAID) course is fully accredited by ISEB for their new ‘Certificate in IT Architecture’ qualification, and is aimed at experienced IT staff wishing to move into an IT Architect role.

IRM UK
A two-day IRM seminar, offering delegates the option of attending Day 1 (SOA: Technology & Products) or Day 2 (SOA: Guidelines & Best Practices for Designing SOAs) only.

Architecting-the-Enterprise
A four-day course, leading to TOGAF certification by The Open Group, covering the TOGAF Enterprise Architecture methodology, which can be used for developing a broad range of Business and IT Architectures.

IRM
A two-day seminar which aims to build an understanding of the concepts of Enterprise Architecture, and develop a sense of urgency for implementing those concepts in a modern enterprise.

IRM
A two-day seminar aimed at those managers who need to have a good understanding of the Zachman Framework in order to direct an implementation of Enterprise Architecture.

QA
A five-day course which aims to provide students with the knowledge and skills needed to design Microsoft .NET-connected solutions to business problems.

Learning Tree
A comprehensive introduction, which will help you choose between competing component infrastructures (.NET, J2EE, CORBA) and compare OO languages (Java, C++, C# and VB.NET).

QA
Four-day course aimed at experienced IT professionals, such as system analysts, technical architects, integrators, application designers and senior developers.

TOGAF is an industry standard architecture framework that may be used freely by any organisation wishing to develop an information systems architecture for use within that organisation.

Adaptive provides a web-based Enterprise Knowledge Repository and related “Adaptations” to support Enterprise Architecture for large organisations and governments around the world.

An independent analyst firm and think-tank, providing a focus for the industry on best practice in business software creation, re-use and management.

A leading provider of business intelligence (BI) solutions, with a portfolio of products (including Crystal Reports) that focus on key areas like Enterprise Performance Management, Information Infrastructure and Data Integration.

The Perforce SCM System features comprehensive software configuration management capabilities, built around a scalable client/server architecture, and is used by over 100,000 developers worldwide.

A US-based site which aims to share knowledge about the Enterprise Architecture industry, solutions and technologies with IT executives, through articles and other resources.

A site specifically aimed at the UK architectural community, with local news, events and webcasts. You can also sign up for the Architect Journal, a free quarterly publication.

ZIFA’s mission is to promote the exchange of knowledge and experience in the use, implementation and advancement of the Zachman Framework for Enterprise Architecture.

Personal thoughts and experiences from an enterprise software architect, currently a program manager at Microsoft, and previously chief scientist and chief server architect at Cape Clear Software Inc.