No one becomes a software architect because they enjoy drawing boxes. Yet many eventually find themselves between system diagrams, technology choices, stakeholder expectations and the hope that the consequences remain manageable.

In this talk, Stefan Priebsch shares five things someone should have told him before he entered software architecture. Not patterns, frameworks or perfect target architectures, but some of the uncomfortable truths behind architectural work: that architecture is always an economic decision, that some decisions are better delayed, that good architects distinguish between reversible and irreversible choices, and that the most important architectural questions are often not answered in the code.

Aimed at everyone who sees architecture as a means to better software, better decisions and better business outcomes, this talk draws on over 30 years of practical experience. Stefan shows why software architecture does not begin with complexity, but with decisions that have long-term impact.