Architectural Katas: Fall 2023

New information after 10/19 kickoff:

• To be considered for participation in Architectural Katas, you must complete the Google form by noon Eastern time on 10/20.
• Architectural Katas is a team event. Before submitting your request to participate, please be sure your team includes 3–5 people.
• No personal information please. Don’t include team member names or email addresses. Your GitHub repo shouldn’t include your team’s names or workplaces. Refer here for details on the problem and information about Wildlife Watcher.
• Have a question for the judges? Submit your question here and return to receive the answer."

Problems? Questions? Email katas@oreilly.com.

By registering for Architectural Katas, you get access to the three live online events and can vote for the winning presentation. Registration does not mean you’re also participating in the Architectural Katas challenge. If you’d like to take part, you must gather a team of three to five people and submit your team name to O’Reilly. Team registration will open October 19 following the first event. Your team must include at least one O’Reilly member in order to participate in the Architectural Katas challenge and attend the live events. The first 100 teams to sign up will be selected to participate.

About Architectural Katas: What could be better than practicing software architecture with your handpicked dream team of architects? Participants in Architectural Katas, moderated by Neal Ford, work together in small groups of their choosing to solve a challenge an actual organization is facing. Everyone gets the chance to practice their craft with a real software architecture problem in a safe and social environment, and the finalists and winners earn well-deserved bragging rights (not to mention an intriguing line on their résumé). Plus a selected organization will have some of its gnarliest software architecture problems solved.

How it works: You put together a first-rate team of three to five people, ready to tackle an architecture challenge. We’ll share the architecture problem with you at the kickoff on October 19. Then your team will have to solve it, working in whatever way is best for you (video calls, group chat, shared docs, etc.). Teams will submit their solutions and reconvene at the semifinals on November 14 to find out which will move on to the finals on December 4. At the finals, the teams will submit video presentations and the audience will vote on the winner. Registration opens October 19 following the first event; the first 100 teams to sign up will be selected to participate.

Not ready to compete but want to be part of the action? Register for the event and join us to see how Architectural Katas works, cast your vote for the winning team, and learn how to successfully present architecture plans to stakeholders.

Series schedule:

Event 1: Kickoff - October 19, 2023 Meet the judges, hear all the details on how Architectural Katas works, learn more about the software architecture problem you’ll be solving, and get the chance to ask Neal any questions you may have.

Discussion Forum with the Judges - October 24, 2023 Teams will be invited to a special one-hour discussion forum, where you’ll have the opportunity to ask the judges questions as you prepare your architectural solution.

Event 2: Semifinals and Architectural Presentation - November 14, 2023 Get a master class on presentation skills and learn how to successfully showcase software architecture plans to developers and stakeholders (and judges). You’ll also find out the top teams that will submit their video presentations for the final event.

Event 3: Finals - December 4, 2023 The top teams’ videos are shown, judges provide feedback, attendees vote for their favorite, and judges announce the winner.

Discussion Forum with the Judges - December 7, 2023 Finalists will be invited to a special one-hour discussion forum, where you’ll be able to receive additional feedback from the judges about your team’s solution.

With today’s registration, you’ll be automatically signed up for Events 1, 2, and 3 in the Architectural Katas series. You’ll also get access to video recordings of all sessions as they become available, including any you may have missed. Teams and finalists will receive special invitations to join the discussion forums with the judges.