Explore the complexities of software architecture in this insightful GOTO Book Club interview with Neal Ford and Mark Richards, co-authors of "Software Architecture: The Hard Parts." Delve into the challenges of distributed architectures, service granularity, and breaking apart monolithic applications. Learn strategies for analyzing trade-offs, managing workflows and transactions, and optimizing operational characteristics like scalability and performance. Gain valuable insights on documenting architectural decisions, handling data in distributed systems, and managing contracts between services. Through the lens of a fictional tech team, the Sysops Squad, discover practical approaches to navigating the difficult decisions inherent in modern software architecture.