The meeting centered on the origins, structure, and ongoing process of the Technology Radar created by Thoughtworks to guide technology decisions within and outside the organization.
Key discussion points included the importance of context in decision-making, the evolution of the Radarâs quadrants and rings, and the collaborative, democratic process used to curate and publish its content.
Attendees emphasized the global, diverse input and the value of open sharing, transparency, and unbiased advice in technology selection and leadership development.
Action Items
No explicit action items or owners were assigned during this discussion.
The Role of Context in Technology Decisions
Decision-making in software development is complex and context-dependent; there are no universal answers.
It is important for technologists to weigh multiple factors unique to their environment before choosing technologies.
The goal of advice and frameworks like the Radar is to empower informed, individual decision-making rather than provide one-size-fits-all solutions.
Origins and Purpose of the Technology Radar
The Technology Advisory Board (TAB) was established to facilitate knowledge sharing and provide guidance on technology choices.
The Radar was created to capture lessons learned, organize technologies, and communicate practical, unbiased advice internallyâand later, externally.
Its purpose is to help both individual careers and organizations make effective, modern, and maintainable technology choices.
Radar Structure and Curation Process
The Radar is organized into four quadrants: Languages & Frameworks, Tools, Techniques, and Platforms.
"Rings" within the Radar indicate adoption confidence:
Adopt: Confident, generally safe choices ("sensible default").
Trial: Proven internally but context-specific.
Assess: Early, experimentalâneeds more experience.
Hold: Caution advised or should be avoided.
Decisions on inclusion are evidence-based, requiring actual production experience within Thoughtworks.
The process is iterative and runs every six months, making the Radar dynamic and responsive to industry changes.
Radar Creation and Democratic Input
Radar content is sourced globally, across domains and expertises, ensuring diversity in experience and relevance.
The curation process includes:
Collection of submissions ("blips") from every region and specialty.
Live group review and discussion, managed to ensure balanced participation (quiet voices are encouraged).
Voting via colored cards (yellow to speak, green for agreement, red for disagreement).
Successive rounds of culling to reduce items to the final set (~100).
âLifeboatâ mechanism for passionate re-advocacy of removed items.
The Radar is opinionated and may reflect regional or personal perspectives, but aims for balanced, well-reasoned conclusions.
Use and Impact of the Radar
Used as a career and organizational development tool to assess technology trends and improve practices.
Encourages other organizations to create their own Radars using the open source package, emphasizing the discussion process as the true value.
The Radar is not comprehensiveâfocuses on technologies with actual experience and lessons learned.
Stresses the importance of vendor and platform agnosticism and utility of sharing both successes and failures.
The process is democratic, open to contribution, and intended to empower technologists globally.
Decisions
Make Technology Radar public â To share learned knowledge and "secret sauce" with the broader industry for greater impact.
Maintain rigorous, experience-based curation â Only include technologies with proven production use or significant learnings to ensure practical value.