Solutions. An introduction to the science & art of system architecture engineering

Transcription

1 Solutions Architecture 101 An introduction to the science & art of system architecture engineering

2 » Architecture roles Architecture roles Defining the different types of architect Architecture Roles 2

3 » Job descriptions Broadly speaking there are some key types of architect Each has a distinctive skill set and role to play Architects must interact with each other, the business and project staff Architecture Roles 3

4 » Job descriptions Data architect Solutions/Application Architect Responsible for establishing data quality standards, data taxonomies and offering input to how information is exchanged internally and externally. Enterprise architect Working within the established enterprise architecture (or not if one doesn t exist!) they provide technology solutions based on defined business requirements. Technical/Infrastructure Architect Equivalent of a city planner. Establishes standards and offer guidance aimed at sustaining the business objectives long term. It is important to realise that much of the role is business/commercially focused. They produce the blueprints which outline how a solution will be built. Another part of the role involves carrying out assurance work on current/proposed solutions. Advises on items like network requirements, protocols, hardware etc. Where the solution architect is mainly concerned with things at a logical level the technical architect is more focused on the physical networks/equipment. Architecture Roles 4

5 » Architect business interaction This is a simplified diagram showing how the architects fit in to the organisation. Some roles have been omitted purely for readability. A lot of architecture work is project based so an example project structure is shown. Senior business decision makers Senior IT decision makers Programme Manager Project Manager Business stakeholders Data Architect Solutions/Application Architect Enterprise Architect Developers Business Analysts Technical/Infrastructure Architect Project Based Work Architecture Roles 5

6 » Enterprise architect Responsibilities: Provides strategic technology guidance to the business Collaborate with business & IT peers to establish standards & processes Custodianship and governance of standards Enable organisation wide systems collaboration Works with: Business stakeholders Application & infrastructure architects Senior IT decision i makers Skills Excellent communicator Deep appreciation of business needs Commercial awareness Awareness and understanding of common architecture frameworks (TOGAF, Zachman) Wide enterprise technology knowledge (middleware, BPM) Solid understanding of enterprise disciplines like SOA, EAI, BPM (acronym soup!) Architecture Roles 6

7 » Data architect Responsibilities: Analysis of existing data models for project based work Design of new models Definition of corporate data dictionaries Works with: Enterprise & solution architects 3 rd party vendors & internal development teams Business units Skills Database schema design Data dictionaries Architecture Roles 7

8 » Solutions architect Responsibilities: Translating business requirements into architectural designs Ensuring adherence to industry best practice Ensuring solutions alignment with enterprise architecture Forming link between business units and development resource Works with: Enterprise, data, security & infrastructure architects 3 rd party vendors & internal development teams Business units Programme/project managers, business analysts Skills Wide product set appreciation Excellent communication Diplomacy Architecture Roles 8

9 » Technical/infrastructure architect Responsibilities: Advice on topics such as bandwidth, connection types etc. Works with: Solutions architect Skills Knowledge of LAN, WAN etc. technologies Protocol expertise (TCP/IP etc) Architecture Roles 9

10 » Future Architecture Roles? As new technologies and methodologies emerge new architecture roles are appearing. The roles require product specialist expertise and a wide appreciation of enterprise scale issues. Virtualisation architect Specialising in technologies like VMware Security architect t This role is already quite defined. d Middleware & EAI architect This is an ever expanding area which knowledge in areas each of which are quite deep. Architecture Roles 10