Introduction

Imagine you’re building a magnificent sandcastle on the beach. You have a vision, but how long will it take to bring it to life? Estimating the time for complex projects like software development can be tricky. In this article, we’ll see how clean architecture in Android development can be your secret weapon for efficient estimation, just like having a clear blueprint for your sandcastle. ️

The Essence of Estimation

Estimation, at its core, is intertwined with the notion of time, presenting a challenge in detaching from this perspective. Various methods, including the Fibonacci sequence and T-shirt sizing, offer alternatives, yet the focus remains predominantly on time. This article aims to demonstrate how, regardless of the estimation technique employed, clean architecture can play a pivotal role in streamlining this process, underscoring that its benefits transcend mere code enhancement.

Android Clean Architecture

There are various interpretations of clean architecture, but we’ll focus on a simple and popular approach with distinct layers:

• Data Source: Imagine this as the builders fetching sand and water from nearby sources.
• Data: The data layer encapsulates the details of data sources and persistence
• Domain: That contains the business logic of your app
• Presentation: This is where the artistry shines — the decorators (UI developers) bring the castle to life visually.

An Illustrative Example

To concretize our discussion, let’s consider estimating a new feature: displaying user details. Technical specifications reveal the need for a new endpoint (1/user/details) and offline caching. The estimation phase then breaks down into technical steps:

1. Data Source Layer: Incorporate the new endpoint using Retrofit, including unit tests.
2. Caching Mechanism: Implement caching (e.g., with Room) with accompanying unit tests.
3. Repository Logic: Introduce the repository, designed with an offline-first approach, alongside unit tests.
4. Use Cases: Develop the necessary use cases with unit tests.
5. View Models: Add view models, ensuring each has unit tests.
6. UI Development: Craft the UI, whether through XML or Compose, with UI tests.

This breakdown acts as a template for future features. It provides transparency for the team on how each feature will be built, and more importantly, it allows for independent estimation. Each task is like a separate tower block, easily estimated on its own.

To improve accuracy, we can test this approach over several sprints to establish a baseline. Then, we can reuse the template for similar features, adjusting the estimates based on complexity. This way, estimating a new feature with a slightly different endpoint becomes as simple as adjusting the size of a tower block!

Benefits of Clean Architecture for Estimation

Incorporating clean architecture into the development and estimation process offers numerous advantages:

1. Enhanced Modularity: Facilitates precise and manageable estimations by segregating the application into distinct layers.
2. Improved Predictability: Simplifies predicting development time based on the clear definition of components and past experiences.
3. Increased Reusability: Reduces estimation times for features that leverage existing, reusable components.
4. Simplified Testing: Leads to more accurate estimations of testing time due to easier implementation of tests.
5. Scalability: Makes estimating the impact of adding new features or scaling existing ones easier.
6. Enhanced Communication with Stakeholders: Improves the conveyance of estimations and technical challenges to non-technical stakeholders.

Conclusion

Clean architecture’s influence extends beyond the structuring of code, offering significant advantages in the estimation process. By breaking down features into manageable layers and components, teams can achieve more accurate and efficient estimations. This structured approach not only enhances code quality and maintainability but also streamlines the development process, allowing for a more predictable and efficient workflow. As we continue to navigate the complexities of software development, embracing practices like clean architecture can provide a beacon of clarity, not just in code, but in the crucial task of project estimation as well.

This article is previously published on proandroiddev.com