Using Architectural Kata in Software Architecture Course: An Experience Report (Category Architecture)

This article summer 2023 Usman Nasir of the Blekinge Institute of Technology (Sweden) He talked about his experience teaching students software architecture using kata. This experience is based on one seminar with katami on 20 students in an advanced course in architecture. And although there is nothing new in the description, but I like the idea of using architectural kata in teaching students. The architectural kata workshop was integrated into the course as a group exercise where students participated in an event aimed at designing, documenting and evaluating the resulting architecture.

As tasks were taken kata from the site Ted Neward architecturalkatas.com, but such tasks were chosen, the domain area of which was easily understood by students, for example, Check Your Work or Making The Grade. The workshop itself included

• Discussion & design phase During this phase, students studied the problem and identified architectural drivers. (Non-functional requirements, limitations)design of a solution that meets the requirements n
• Peer review & voting phase During this phase, students present their decisions and evaluate each other’s work, using a scale for assessments. -- Nailed itAll key functional requirements are closed and quality attributes are taken into account, and the resulting solution is achievable in terms of implementation. (feasible) -- Missed a few thingsThe solution missed some key functional requirements or quality attributes. -- Missed it, badlyA solution misses key functional requirements, attributes of quality, or makes large incorrect design assumptions

After the end of the course, the teacher collected feedback and they showed a positive experience of students. Participants reported improvements not only in technical skills related to architecture design and evaluation, but also in soft skills such as teamwork, communication and critical thinking. Students appreciated the practical nature of the workshop, which allowed them to practice architectural decision-making without the pressures associated with real projects.

In principle, it seems to me that holding architectural kata is a good way of practical training. For students in universities, this can be combined with the real implementation of the proposed solution throughout the semester. For engineers in companies, this can be combined with a workshop on designing designed beyond the capabilities that IDP has. (internal developer platform)

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