What Does a Software Architect Do?

Although the paper "Responsibilities of a Software Architect" has been around for a while, it is worth reviewing--particularly since questions still arise on what exactly a software architect does seems to crop up.

In a nutshell:

A software architect is responsible for creating or selecting the most appropriate architecture for a system (or systems), such that it suits the business needs, satisfies user requirements, and achieves the desired results under given constraints.

For more detail, my favorite topics (in no particular order) are:

• An architect abstracts the complexity of a system...
• An architect sets quantifiable objectives...
• An architect acts as an agent of change...
• An architect progressively makes critical decisions...

Of course, a software architect does a lot more than this--as you'll see when you go to SoftwareArchitectures.com for details about on what I've briefly introduced.

Posted by Jon Erickson at 05:22 PM  Permalink