How to use this Radar

Introduction

A Technology Radar is a strategic tool for navigating the dynamic tech landscape, visually categorizing technologies, techniques, platforms, and tools by adoption and maturity. It helps developers stay informed and actively engaged.

At DVC, we use our radar as a collaborative and transparent way to communicate our technological consensus, keeping everyone on the same page.

Structure

A radar consists of (usually) four quadrants further divided into four rings. Each technology is placed as an item into one of these sections.

The Rings

Each ring indicates the maturity and adoption stage of the items in it. We view them as follows:

• Adopt: Technologies that are mature and have been proven to deliver value. These are recommended for use and often industry standards.
• Trial: Technologies that are promising and have been successfully used in projects. They should be tried on a limited basis and are a prime candidate for training.
• Assess: Emerging technologies that are worth exploring but have not yet been widely adopted. Further investigation and experimentation are needed and we encourage to do so.
• Hold: Technologies that are not recommended for new projects. These might be outdated, less effective, or have known issues. Even if they are still widely used, we want to suggest that alternatives are considered.

The Quadrants

Each quadrant in our radar broadly categorizes the items in it. We chose to use four standard quadrants, here's a brief overview:

• Languages & Frameworks: A selection of programming languages, alongside essential frameworks for building a variety of custom software.
• Methods & Patterns: Key software development methods and design patterns, covering everything from continuous integration and testing to architecture.
• Platforms & Operations: Technologies and tools for software and infrastructure operations, including platforms and services for managing and scaling applications.
• Tools: A range of software tools, from simple productivity enhancers to comprehensive project solutions, catering to various project needs.

Quadrants are mainly used for keeping the radar clean and readable and are not meant as a strict categorization. There are a variety of cases in which an item fits multiple quadrants e.g. a database system.

Our Tags

We apply further nuance through tags. They are a simple way to filter our radar by cross-section interests.

• AGILE - Emphasizes flexibility, collaboration, and customer satisfaction.
• ARCHITECTURE - Designing systems to meet technical and business requirements.
• GREEN IT - Promoting sustainability and minimizing carbon footprint.
• STANDARDS - Established guidelines or specifications.
• UI/UX - Focus on usability, accessibility, and user journey.
• FRONTEND - Development of visually appealing and user-friendly interfaces
• BACKEND - Server-side data processing and application logic.
• CI/CD - Reliable and quick software deployment processes.
• DEVOPS - Practices to enhance development lifecycle and deployment.
• TESTING - Ensuring requirements are met and preventing issues.
• DOCUMENTATION - Resources for maintainability and scalability, often in written form.

Notice

Our technology radar uses AOE Tech Radar. Check it out and feel free to contribute.