It would be relatively challenging to explain solution architecture to people. If you were a software developer, rest assured that you would often come across questions such as
– Do you sketch buildings now
– Do solutions require architecture
It would not be wrong to suggest that sketching has been an integral aspect of the job of an architect; rest assured that his role would entail many more things as well.
Understanding solution architecture
Before you delve into solution architecture, consider understanding the solution. When it comes to understanding a solution, rest assured that it is a way to describe an answer to a problem. However, it could be taken further. In the Corporate and Sales arena, determining a solution would entail evaluating the problems and needs of the client. It would also entail addressing them with relevant systems providing huge improvements replacing the earlier deployed systems.
However, it would be in your best interest to avoid restricting it to the specific needs of the clients. Rest assured that organizations could benefit largely from evaluating the solutions again in their systems. It would help you deliver the value internally.
With this latest description of the solution, let us begin examining solution architecture. It would also be imperative to see how the role could be used for delivering its value. Simply put across, Solution Architecture has been involved with the evaluation of specific business needs. You would be given the responsibility of designing the description of solutions used for addressing the specific needs.
A project would initiate with one of the business analysts of the company drafting a specific set of product or business needs, which you would require reviewing later and providing feedback as well. After finalizing the specific needs, you would be required to take every requirement and start designing different ways of developing them by the team. When you become confident in your approach, you would need to translate the needs and additional discussion into different sets of instructions. When the instructions are followed properly to the letter could result in appropriate implementation of the solution.
The role of the solution architect would not only be describing the solution in easy-to-understand English but also providing a similar description to a highly technical audience with adequate details. It would be important that the developing and realizing the solution would have little or no questions on what should be done and how you should achieve it. It could range from being as huge as offering an API specification to outlining the business logic of the unit’s code.
Communication has been an integral aspect of Solution Architecture. Providing and receiving feedback, understanding the needs of the organization, and facing a challenge on the understanding help providing a possible solution. Moreover, it would help a colleague provide the latest insights into a better solution. It would be imperative to understand how a solution architect deals with such situations. It would be a major aspect that could ensure the efficient running of a complex project. Solution Architects would act as decision-makers. Therefore, they would be comfortable with facing challenges on such decisions. They consider it to be a key to coming up with the best possible solution.
Diagram has been the best aspect of a solution architect. It would be inclusive of Entity-Relationship Diagrams, UML Diagrams, and more. It would not be wrong to suggest that the solution architect would retain information if a memorable diagram, drawing, visual aid, or video could communicate the information effectively. Consequently, you should be proficient in using these visual aids has been the key to the success of a solution architect. Solution architecture has been an immensely rewarding process.
Main processes of solution architecture
A decently built architecture assists the team in developing the products on time and within budget. It ensures to solve the problems it has been specifically designed to solve. If you wonder about the tasks that solutions architecture carries out, find below a list of options.
– Matching solutions with the corporate environment
– Meeting the needs of all stakeholders
– Accounting for project limitations inclusive of technology, scope, risks, cost, time, quality, and resources
– Choosing the right project technology for product development
– Complying with non-functional needs
Personal attributes of a solution architect
To provide engineering and management teams with technical advice, rest assured that a solution architect should entail a technical background with a minimum of eight years of work experience in one of more IT sectors. The personal attributes of solution architecture should be inclusive of excellent communication skills, project and resource management skills, deep analytical skills, ability to influence and negotiate, and should be able to work in collaboration.
Solution architecture could be established in the corporate structure through technology consulting organizations. It would be possible if the process of integrating the latest software were not systematic.
