Beyond Code: Holistic Engineering Bridges Social Dynamics and Technical Systems

At QCon London 2026, Principal Engineer Vanessa Formicola delivered a groundbreaking presentation exposing how non-technical forces fundamentally shape software architecture. With 15+ years of experience at Microsoft, ThoughtWorks, and Flo, Formicola introduced holistic engineering – a practice that treats organizations as organic systems where technical decisions intersect with human dynamics.

The Invisible Architects

Formicola identified recurring architectural anti-patterns rooted in organizational behavior:

1. Shared Kitchen Sinks: Monolithic utility libraries bloated by cross-team contributions, often incentivized by flawed reward systems. "When career frameworks prioritize company-wide impact," Formicola explained, "developers game the system by stuffing features into shared components."

2. Identity Crisis: Consolidated domain models that misrepresent business subdomains, frequently stemming from immature product organizations. "If product teams can't articulate domain boundaries," Formicola noted, "engineers inherit the confusion in their class structures."

3. Cirque du Soleil Coding: Over-engineered solutions showcasing technical prowess rather than solving business needs. "Toxic cultures pressure developers to prove themselves through complexity theater," Formicola observed, citing reward systems that prioritize technical showmanship over simplicity.

Visualization of socio-technical forces impacting architecture from Formicola's presentation

The Holistic Engineering Framework

Formicola proposed modeling organizations as ecosystems where technical decisions must account for:

• External Forces: Market shifts, regulatory changes, and global events
• Organizational Substrate: Existing processes, hierarchies, and reward systems
• The Triad:
  • Product Strategy: Long-term vision beyond immediate requirements
  • People Dynamics: Life events, skill gaps, and team relationships
  • Engineering Reality: Deployment pipelines, security constraints, and legacy debt

"Architects routinely design for idealized technical conditions," Formicola cautioned. "Holistic engineering means designing for the actual conditions – including that your VP's bonus structure impacts your microservices."

Making the Implicit Explicit

Formicola's toolkit transforms hidden dynamics into actionable artifacts:

• Social Decision Records (SDRs): Companion documents to Architectural Decision Records (ADRs) that capture human factors behind technical choices. Example: "Why we borrowed a developer from Team B until Q3" or "How marketing deadlines influenced database selection."

• Dysfunction Mapping: Visualizing communication bottlenecks and misaligned incentives using modified Team Topologies diagrams.

• Two-Design Approach: Creating both an ideal "north star" architecture and a pragmatic implementation constrained by current organizational reality, with explicit transition milestones.

"When you model why two departments clash," Formicola demonstrated, "you stop blaming 'fate' when integration deadlines slip."

Case Studies from the Field

During Q&A, Formicola shared implementation insights:

• Toxic Leadership: "Build a shielded prototype team demonstrating better outcomes. Success is harder to ignore than complaints."

• Non-technical Organizations: "Start with pain points engineering can solve immediately. Use those wins to fund broader cultural work."

• SDRs in Practice: Documented resource-sharing agreements prevented project delays when a loaned engineer's recall date was disputed.

Vanessa Formicola presenting at QCon London 2026

The Path Forward

Formicola closed with a stark reminder: "Technical problems with social roots require social solutions. When we ignore HR's influence on our codebase, we become victims of our own ignorance."

Her recommended resources provide concrete starting points:

• Team Topologies for organization/architecture alignment
• Domain-Driven Design for strategic modeling
• Accelerate for building high-performance teams

As organizations face increasingly complex socio-technical challenges, Formicola's holistic approach offers a framework for turning organizational realities from constraints into design parameters.

Watch the full presentation: Holistic Engineering at QCon London 2026