Andrew Harmel-Law

My book, Facilitating Software Architecture has been included in the Gartner 2026 Reading Guide for Software Architects and Engineers by Peter Hyde. 😱🎉 Being selected is both humbling and energizing. Thank you everyone who contributed to what became the book. 📚

Its the Stories of Facilitating Software Architecture and Design Anniversary! 🎂🎉

There’s a new Software Architecture Humble Bundle and my book is among the amazing tomes on the list. 🎉💙 www.humblebundle.com/books/softwa...

Among the misunderstandings of how AI might change management: for every decision to be made there is a right decision and otherwise many wrong decisions; the criteria for what makes a decision right doesn't change over time; speed is optimal for all decisions

This October I'll be running the Royal Parks Half Marathon in support of the Galilee Foundation. They have spent almost 20 years helping Palestinian students & preserving Palestinian culture through grassroots projects. 🏃‍➡️ 🏃‍♀️‍➡️ 🏃‍♂️‍➡️ Please sponsor me & share for reach www.justgiving.com/fundraising/...

So it looks like the dark money Cottrell scandal around Farage now involves people in Trump's circle too

TIL: “Butlerian Jihad” is something from the Dune universe and _not_ a struggle for the ideas of Judith Butler. 😭

What if the best software architect isn't the person making all the decisions? 🤔 At @yowconf.bsky.social @andrewhl.bsky.social explores how to empower teams to make architectural decisions, reduce bottlenecks, and build better systems together. Watch: youtu.be/BQYIBKIzY5g?... #SoftwareArchitecture

In several of the stories people told @roundcrisis.com, @andrewhl.bsky.social and I on the @virtualddd.com Stories of Facilitating Software Architecture & Design, the thing that decided the outcome wasn't in the room. It sat upstream. >>>

Last week I was on a podcast to talk about the future of software design, with @martinfowler.com, @settling-mud.bsky.social, and @andrewhl.bsky.social. It was a lively mix of AI optimism and concern, from practical aspects of design, to design philosophy. www.youtube.com/live/g5WfzxS...

Apropos of nothing, i didn’t think it was possible to love #JohnBlanche more than i already did… www.thegamer.com/warhammer-40...

This report on AI in tech sounds pretty interesting and confirms a lot of my experience/suspicions. TL;DR Developer productivity is marginally up, however, incidents and bugs and way up. Source: www.faros.ai/blog/ai-acce...

In software, we embrace anarchistic ways of organising more than we realise. I made this talk so that you can be more explicit in your adoption of these approaches, patterns, and most importantly, mindsets. Enjoy!

Every software org is dysfunctional. Yes, yours too. 😉 Rebecca Parsons, Gregor Hohpe, @technologytulip.bsky.social & @andrewhl.bsky.social sat down and basically said it out loud. You shouldn’t aim to “fix” dysfunction, but to work with it instead. 🎧 Listen in: gotopia.tech/podcast

And I am going to do this again Craft Conf in june together with @evelynvankelle.bsky.social . Together with @roundcrisis.com and @andrewhl.bsky.social we were actually thinking about setting up some surveys to do this broader linked to our @virtualddd.com. Perhaps something you are interested in?

We're quietly curating these connections. Curious to see what patterns emerge across the full collection. Each story is at buff.ly/bG8QsWX and all the heuristics are on dddheuristics.com. #CollaborativeModelling #SoftwareArchitecture #DomainDrivenDesign #Facilitation #VirtualDDD

Three different practitioners, three different stories, and underneath all of them the same move: get what's inside people's heads into a shared, tangible space. >>>

What I find interesting — and this isn't visible on the site yet — is that these start to connect with heuristics from earlier episodes. Diana's complements one Paul Rayner shared: make implicit mental models explicit for objective collaboration. >>>

Facilitation creates more lasting impact because people internalize what they discover through their own thinking. >>>

In a recent episode, Diana Montalion shared one that sits alongside it: design experiences instead of explaining more. When people resist change, the instinct is to add more explanation. Rarely works. >>>

Gien's full heuristic: surface value-based preferences before choosing technical solutions. Before evaluating options, dig into what's driving the strong preference. Is it fear of skills becoming outdated? Concern about maintainability? Making that visible changes the whole conversation. >>>

What we try to do is different: invite practitioners to share a real story, then sit with them and extract the heuristics they've actually been working from. Something @rebeccawb.bsky.social introduced into our community. >>>

recent episode of "Stories of Facilitating Software Architecture & Design" — a series I host with @roundcrisis.com and @andrewhl.bsky.social on Virtual DDD. Most architecture content gives you frameworks or opinions. >>>

"AI Augmentation for Technical Leaders" - Birgitta Boeckeler. Can AI help with architectural decisions? Watch:& Subscribe. youtu.be/qB7rsbDfmQg

"No to war... and free Palestine" Javier Bardem

AI hype or real progress? @t-redactyl.bsky.social & @aiwithmichelle.com break it down on GOTO Unscripted 🎤 History, data, and hard-won pragmatism. www.youtube.com/watch?list=P...

the hardest part of software was never the technical decisions. It was what happened — or didn't happen — in the room where they were made. >>>

Bully No-Mates would be a better name.

18% of the Fridays this year have been Friday the 13ths which honestly seems very on brand for 2026

🎉 That's a wrap with the last sessions from @andrewhl.bsky.social @bitboss.bsky.social and @josvanschouten.bsky.social 2 days, 28+ sessions, countless connections. From AI to Team Topologies to real-world solutions. Thank you. See you next year

So much goodness in this conversation. I was highly privileged to be a part of it. 🎉🙏🏻🙇

Are we asking that question in our own teams? Read, watch, or listen to Gien's full story: buff.ly/p65Td6F

Across all these episodes, what we keep learning is: facilitating architecture means creating the conditions where the real reasons behind decisions can safely surface. That's harder than any technical problem. ....

In our latest episode, @gienverschatse.com shares how a team chose event sourcing because one dominant voice pushed for it, while the real drivers (fear, identity, the need for something exciting) stayed completely invisible. Nobody had the skills or the role to facilitate a better conversation. ...

Teams that stay silent out of fear. Workshops where polite agreement masks real disagreement. Hierarchy that shuts down collaboration with a single gesture. Technology choices driven by career anxiety rather than analysis. These aren't edge cases. They show up in nearly every story we hear. ...

14 episodes into our Stories on Facilitating Software Architecture & Design series with @roundcrisis.com and @andrewhl.bsky.social, and one pattern keeps surfacing: the biggest threat to good architecture isn't a lack of technical knowledge. It's the human dynamics we don't address. ...

Think about the last architectural decision your team made. Was it actually decided through careful analysis? Or did the person who cared the most and spoke the loudest end up steering the outcome? ... #SoftwareArchitecture #FacilitatingArchitecture #CollaborativeSoftwareDesign #TechnicalLeadership

Some of the most beautiful hand-drawn diagrams i've ever seen. Turkish "Justice Gazette", 1920, artist: Cerîde-i Adliyye. Source [substack] casualarchivist.substack.com/p/poetic-jus... #türkiye #infographics #stunning

Can’t wait to be back in Berlin for @amaconf.bsky.social to talk about Anarchy and how it can help your architecture practice.

The whole conversation transformed how I thought about software. Check it out.

The new series @roundcrisis.com, @andrewhl.bsky.social and I are hosting is no different. Whether you prefer listening to a podcast, watching a video, or reading a blog - we've got you covered.

With Virtual Domain-driven design, we've always strived for free knowledge sharing and accessiblility to anyone wanting to go deeper into systems and software design. ...

It's those lived experiences, that human connection you get from hearing someone's real story, that carries the most lasting value - in work and in life. ...

"Stories of Facilitating Software Architecture & Design" is built on a belief that feels especially relevant right now: in this age of AI, personal stories matter more than ever. ...

Last week we published the 12th episode, and we've already recorded 4 more. Hopefully these stories inspire and help people — in any role — on their path to changing the way we do architecture and design. Check out the series: buff.ly/ihPoVzk

Yes, editing takes work — but it also forces me to sit with the content, to really engage with it. We often forget that revisiting stories and ideas can help you re-engage with concepts you once knew but forgot, or give you a different perspective each time. ...

I've been on my own path with this for the past 10 years, having had the privilege to witness a team-first approach early in my career. And honestly, recording and editing each episode still gives me new insights and fresh enthusiasm to try things differently. ...