Solution Architects: Who Are They?

Organizations must adapt their systems and processes in a continuously changing technological environment in order to satisfy new business demands. The digital transformation of adapting company goals with technological solutions requires a specialized skill set and a set of procedures.

Solution Architect, often known as SA, is among the processes that must be carried out before any tech solution development can start. In this post, we'll define solution architecture, outline the responsibilities of a solution architect, and show how applying this knowledge might aid in resolving business issues.

The Role Of A Solution Architect In A Software Development Team

A Solution Architect is in charge of the creation of a thorough architecture for a software solution and the provision of strategic guidance during the development process.

This person needs to ensure that the new solution is suitable with the existing enterprise architecture, from technical, business, user, and other standpoints.

The SA collaborates with all the teams engaged in the development process, namely Project Managers (PM), Business Analyst (BA), Developers, DevOps Engineers, Testers and System Admins. They are required to understand how each architecture and service functions. All of this information is necessary for a Solution Architect to manage the effective delivery of a high-quality final product to the end users.

Solution Architects examine the current environment, determine what technologies are available, and determine what software product has to be created in order to provide the best solution to the requirement. They then develop an overall strategic technical vision for the software development team. Based on the agreed goal of business and the client, they create a budget and timeframe for delivering a software product. 

When the strategy is accepted, Solution Architects are in charge of overseeing the process and informing stakeholders of the progress. They ensure that all of the requirements of both technical and non-technical stakeholders are satisfied in the scope of the project. 

The Responsibilities Of A Solution Architect

• Giving recommendations and roadmaps for proposals
• Performing design and performance analysis on solutions
• Documenting and distributing best practices for new solutions
• Advocating for process improvements and helping to develop solutions
• Continuously communicating the latest updates to team members, clients, and other stakeholders
• Supervising and guiding development team members. Carrying out technical leadership within team throughout the project
• Evaluating project limitations to find alternatives, alleviating risks, and performing risk management
• Reviewing and validating solutions designed
• Staying up-to-date with the latest technologies and proposing changes to the existing architecture

Necessary Skills Of A Solution Architect

Although the job description can be varied among different companies, a Solution Architect should hold certain skills needed to successfully craft, build, and guide software development solutions. According to GCT Solution, these are some crucial skill sets of the Solution Architect position.

Technical Expertise

A solid technical background and practical hands-on expertise in each key area of the software development process and hardware engineering are prerequisites for the career as a Solution Architect. Thus, a Solution Architect should have experience in the following areas:

• Business analysis
• IT infrastructure
• Software architecture design
• Cloud development
• DevOps

In-Depth Analysis

Software Architects might overlook a single detail of integrated systems, which could have an impact on the software development process and lead to errors or ineffective software solutions.

Understanding how various components of the business interact is necessary when designing a solution. SA keep an eye on the corporate strategy and every business procedure that outlines how a corporation accomplishes its strategic goals. Solution Architects, therefore, frequently engage in analytical tasks and switch between different business levels.

Excellent Communication Skills

A Solution Architect can be considered as “a bridge”, ensuring effective communication among the development team and stakeholders during the software development process. 

Therefore, the ability to communicate properly is a core competency of Solution Architects. The job requires negotiating with stakeholders, thorough comprehending and clear conveying requirements, controlling risks, and delivering products. Skilled Solution Architect should be able to listen to everyone, analyze collected information, and re-express it clearly.

Risk Management

A Solution Architect should be able to examine and recognize potential long-term and short-term risks. It is very important because defects could cause technical failures and have negative impacts on the software product. 

Project & Resource Management

Not involved directly in project development, Solution Architects still ensure that the resources are allocated reasonably. They analyze and decide on which solutions are useful and which are useless in a particular circumstance. They are concerned with leading the development team to achieve the mutual goals of company and client within the constraints of the available time and resources.

In addition, it is necessary that Solution Architects take a long-term view of the project, bearing in mind that the solution may need to scale up and adapt to modifications. As the ones being aware of the sustainable goal, SA design the development process and designate responsibilities of each team member accordingly.

Final thoughts

A Solution Architect is responsible for creating and implementing an IT architecture that satisfies the intended business requirements. They begin by gathering business needs, learning the requirements' details, and working with stakeholders to provide the desired outcome.  

In general, the major task of a Solution Architect is to communicate all requirements of the development team to the business and guide them in creating an optimal solution that can successfully address those needs. The job entails heavy responsibility and calls for in-depth IT expertise. It is quite obvious that the need for Solutions Architects will increase, because businesses are relying more and more on software and cutting-edge technologies. 

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