Does architecture matter in a world of "quick hacks"? Architecture versus big data and ML

Mars Geldard (University of Tasmania), Paris Buttfield-Addison (Secret Lab)

11:00–11:45 Wednesday, 6 November 2019

Location: Expo Hall Sessions

Application architecture, Expo Plus Sessions

Secondary topics: Anti-Pattern, Best Practice, Case Study, Overview

Average rating:

(3.50, 2 ratings)

Who is this presentation for?

Anyone interested in the future of software architecture or the world of data

Level

Beginner

Description

Data science, machine learning, and data manipulation and preparation…all of these are core components of a future wave of software engineering. However, many of these components of the future wave are built upon “quick hacks,” “quick scripts,” or pipelines cobbled together from multiple frameworks and miscellaneous (often open source) components.

Mars Geldard and Paris Buttfield-Addison examine if software architecture matters in a world of big data and machine learning where software is a patchwork of pieces glued together by scripts and frameworks, or if it can matter due to the nature of the beast. Using a combination of original research, anecdotes, testimonials, and case studies from the real world, Mars and Paris explore whether data scientists, machine learning engineers, and other members of the latest generation of computing professionals, working with data and creating a patchwork, care about software architecture, or, indeed, can care about software architecture.

You’ll find out if architecture matters when you’re building a “little script,” or whether your “quick hack” needs any form of architectural knowledge, thought, or design. Everything is a pipeline made up of components, other people’s code, and tiny bits of glue code. Mars and Paris walk you through if this is just another way to accrue technical debt or if architecture truly doesn’t matter in this world.

What you'll learn

Find out if architecture matters when you're building a "little script," or whether your "quick hack" needs any form of architectural knowledge, thought, or design

Mars Geldard

University of Tasmania

Marina Rose Geldard (Mars) is a technologist from Down Under in Tasmania. Entering the world of technology relatively late as a mature-age student, she has found her place in the world: an industry where she can apply her lifelong love of mathematics and optimization. She compulsively volunteers at industry events, dabbles in research, and serves on the executive committee for her state’s branch of the Australian Computer Society (ACS) as well as the AUC. She’s writing Practical Artificial Intelligence with Swift for O’Reilly and working on machine learning projects to improve public safety through public CCTV cameras in her hometown of Hobart.

Paris Buttfield-Addison

Secret Lab

Paris Buttfield-Addison is a cofounder of Secret Lab, a game development studio based in beautiful Hobart, Australia. Secret Lab builds games and game development tools, including the multi-award-winning ABC Play School iPad games, the BAFTA- and IGF-winning Night in the Woods, the Qantas airlines Joey Playbox games, and the Yarn Spinner narrative game framework. Previously, Paris was a mobile product manager for Meebo (acquired by Google). Paris particularly enjoys game design, statistics, blockchain, machine learning, and human-centered technology. He researches and writes technical books on mobile and game development (more than 20 so far) for O’Reilly; he recently finished writing Practical AI with Swift and is currently working on Head First Swift. He holds a degree in medieval history and a PhD in computing. Paris loves to bring machine learning into the world of practical and useful. You can find him on Twitter as @parisba.