3 - Solution Architect - The Individual

📄️ The Individual

The previous section outlined Solution Architecture as a role. We spoke of what the role brings to an organisation. This section focuses on the characteristics of the person carrying out the role of a Solution Architect. The qualities needed by that individual.

📄️ What does a Solution Architect do?

A question asked by many and not always in jest! The Solution Architect role is broad and not restricted to just the technical aspects of a project. There is a

📄️ Architect Roles

We’re going to keep this section brief. The book’s focus is on the role of Solution Architecture. There is an ever expanding list of job titles with Architect in the title. Awareness of the common roles is useful.

📄️ Qualifications

Employers looking for a Solution Architect will be more interested in your experience than formal qualifications. This is certainly true within the UK. There are no formal educational prerequisites. As is the case with most jobs, the specifics of whatever degree you did years ago or higher education achievements are largely an irrelevance.

📄️ Certifications

There’s a quick summary to this. If you’re not a working Solution Architect then certifications alongside a junior role with support will be of help. If you’re a working junior Solution Architect already then paying for qualifications yourself won’t be of significant help in gaining roles. There are of course exceptions to all of this.

📄️ Technical Skills

TODO

📄️ Personality

The role of Solution Architect requires more personal interaction than other technical roles. You’ll need a blend of skills drawn from technical, personal, business and other domains. Some expertise within the domain of your business is also a near prerequisite for most work.

📄️ Become comfortable with being uncomfortable

This is a necessity. Certainly if you want to control your stress levels. Periods of uncertainty will be more common than you may like. People will ask questions for which you have no clear answers. Uncertainty will take two general forms.

📄️ Be a lifelong learner

Nobody jumps straight into an Architect role. It’s near certain you’ve moved from another role, possibly quite different. There’s less technical churn in the Architecture role compared to say development. However there are still things to learn and that will remain forever true.

📄️ Logical

Breaking a problem into manageable pieces necessitate a logical approach. Another obvious positive trait to possess. However, stick with me on this. There are less obvious scenarios for which a logical approach will be your life preserve in stormy project seas.

📄️ Concise

Stick to the point. Use as few words and time as possible. It’s easy for descriptions of problems/solutions, PowerPoint decks etc. to become bloated. Losing your audience and point is easily done. Boiling things down to their essence is difficult. Protect your message. Don’t involve lots of people in an activity. Asking for input, even that of your line management, will generally do nothing other than expand your message.