The Role of An Architect

- Check "Developing the Future" whitepaper. There is also a Microsoft response to it.
- There is going to be a DTF version 2

- Why having focus groups like this in conferences?
 - The role of an architect could benefit from clarity
 - We had great feedback from previous events

- What marks out an architect?
 - Strong technical foundation
 - Domain Expertise
 - Proven practical experience
 - Very broad range of concerns (technical, legal, ergonomics, business, management)

- "An architect generally is also a librarian". He must know of a wide range of subjects.

- Role of an architect
 - To convert client requirements into solutions
  - Understand the business domain
  - Understand the technology domains
 - To design solutions
 - To advocate solutions
 - To bear -ultimate?- responsability for value and costs
 - To manage specialists
 - Whole lifecycle concerns
 - Strategic
- Types of architect
 - The town planners
  - Enterprise architect
  - Strategic architect
 - The house-builders
  - Solutions architect
  - Applications architect
 - Utility providers
  - Network architect
  - Security architect
- "Every company that has a security architect is in danger of all other people saying that security is not my problem anymore".

- Favorite architect title found so far is: "Food architect".

- Other differentiators are:
- Type of Employer:
 - Corporate
 - Consultancy
 - Product Vendor
- Size of Employer:
 - Global
 - National
 - SME

- How do you become an architect?
 - University course?
  - Not essential (will this assertion be suitable for infrastructure architects?)
  - Not specifally sought by business
  - Focus on transferrable skills rather then vocational skills
 - Become recognized as one
 - Experience
  - Learn from experience
  - Learn from a mentor

- Professionalization of architects
 - Been an issue for many years with little progress
 - Could be driven by:
  - Insurance companies
  - Clients' hiring approach
  - Risk management legislation
 - No obvious national certification body
 - Would need levels of certification
 - Would need "conversion" of existing architects

- The problems of analogy
 - We are like RIBA architects, but not the same
 - Our concerns are like other engineering professions, but not the same
 - Perhaps we lack the confidence to celebrate our uniqueness
 - Are we more like the film industry than civil engineering?
 - "Our role is not to be a bridge but to be a zip". Hmm...