Do you need Software Architect as your job title?

Recently, I held a job interview for a senior software developer position. During this interview, the candidate asked if his job title could be Software Architect. Curious about his motivation, I wondered why this was so important to him. He explained during the interview that this would give him authority within the development team. This authority would mean that he would be responsible for making the design decisions.

I found this a strange request because usually, IT architects don’t have the mandate to push design decisions within a team. Instead, he is responsible for creating an environment that helps the team to come up with the best solution. Also, we don’t have specific roles other than those defined by SCRUM. Sure, there are always more experienced developers in the team who take the lead in creating designs, organize workshops, or help the product owner gather requirements.

This whole discussion inspired me to tell you how I feel about the role of an IT architect in an organization.

If I look at the work of an IT architect, I see the following main activities: Creating, Networking, Facilitating, and Steering. To become a great IT architect, you have to master each of these activities.

To master each activity, you need certain qualities. I will explain each activity together with the required qualities.

Creating

As an IT architect, you have to sketch designs of possible solutions. You have to help the development team to identify potential solutions. You must continuously be looking for ways to innovate. It would be best if you always were on the lookout for new tools that decrease development time and improve quality. Always try new ways to integrate existing solutions into new solutions.

For most architects, creating things comes naturally, as most IT architects have multiple years of experience with creating solutions for customers.

If you would like to become great at Creating, you need to improve the following qualities.

• Analytical
• Recognize and use patterns
• Build visions
• Let go of a fixed mindset
• Trust the process
• Open for new insights
• Drive / Passion

Networking

Networking is an essential activity for IT architects. Being able to build relations and find the right people for the job is critical. You need to know where to search for people and how to create a team. You should know which coworker to include in a job interview and know which team member is best suited for a specific role.

It also includes knowing where to find technical resources such as development tools or existing commercial off the shelve solutions.

To become great at Networking, you need to improve the following qualities.

• Entrepreneurial
• Emphatical
• Self-confidence
• Transparent
• Firm

Facilitator

An IT architect should be able to act as a facilitator. For example, holding job interviews to asses the quality of new team members or coaching team members to help them grow. He should be able to organize and facilitate workshops for different purposes, such as gathering requirements, defining quality guidelines and tool selecting.

It helps to improve the following qualities when you want to become a great facilitator.

• Empathic
• Sensitive
• Playfulness
• Intuition
• Creation of confidence
• Handle uncertainty

Steering

Although I think steering sounds a little negative, it is essential to take the lead when necessary and force the team to make a (design) decision. This has nothing to do with having the authority to force a team to accept your choice.

As already mentioned, I think the architect needs a different mechanism to be able to get a team to create the best solution. The IT architect needs to inspire the development team with a vision and possible architecture. The architect needs to guard quality-requirements and guidelines.

To steer a development team or a part of an organization, you need the following qualities.

• Passion for content
• Authentic
• Expressive
• Explicit
• Patient
• Transparent
• Firm

A challenge

If you want to become a better IT architect, I challenge you to rate yourself at each of the listed qualities. Use a simple 2 point scale: “Good” and “Wants to become better.” When finished, focus on improving that activity that has the most “Want to become better” qualities. This won’t happen overnight, make this your goal for the coming year.

In the next article, I will tell you how you can improve the activities of an IT architect using the rated qualities.