Software development has always been about building the next big thing, solving complex problems, and pushing the boundaries of what’s possible. But there’s a growing challenge that’s quietly undermining our ability to innovate: the exponential rise in ownership costs measured not just in dollars, but in time. The Time Debt Crisis Every line of code we write comes with an invisible price tag. Not the upfront cost of development, but the ongoing investment required to keep that code alive, secure, and functional.

Recently, I’ve noticed discussions about the state and direction of Agile. Martin Fowler gives presentations about the state of Agile here. And Robert C. Martin devoted an entire book to this topic - Clean Agile - which I read in one sitting and definitely recommend. I truly observe that times have indeed moved on. Agile has become a buzzword and a cargo cult. Most people claim to follow it, but interpret it in their own way.

At the beginning of the year, I read the book 37 Things One Architect Knows About IT Transformation and as time progresses, I’m increasingly realizing how excellent it is. The book describes who an architect is and what their tasks are. It explains how relationships and communication work within organizations and emphasizes patterns and anti-patterns in them. It’s definitely worth reading and I assume I’ll return to it several more times.