How to Be a Successful IT Architect

1
How to Be a Successful IT Architect

• Angela Yochem, IASA Fellow
• Strategic Architecture Management Executive
• Senior Vice President
• Bank of America

2
How to Be a Successful IT Architect

• What do architects need to know?
• Foundational Capabilities
• What else do architects need to know?
• Domain-specific Capabilities
• How can I build these capabilities?
• How can I build my career?
• Do senior architects have a career path?
• Perhaps

3
What Do Architects Need to Know?

• Initial Problem How to train Architects?

8/06
Initial Brainstorming Meeting - Redmond
9/06
Skills and Career Survey Extended to All
Registered IASA Members
9-10/06
Select IASA Chapters Solicited for Additional
Feedback
10/06-2/07
IT Architect Career Path Definition Proposed
10-11/06
Skills Library Developed
10/06 - present
Corresponding Book Under Development
(Addison-Wesley)
1/07
Training Framework Definition and Program Kick-Off

• Result
• Community-developed IT Architect Skills Taxonomy,
  IASA Skills Library, Architect
• Career Path Definition (from Aspiring to Master),
  IASA Training Program,
• and Foundation of IASA Press collaboration with
  Addison-Wesley

4
What Do Architects Need to Know?

• All Architects must have a core set of
  foundational capabilities

Information
Software
Business
Infrastructure
IT Environment
Design Skills
Enterprise
Quality Attributes
Business-Technology Strategy
Human Dynamics
5
Foundational Capability 1 Understanding the IT
Environment

• Organizational Aspects
• Includes understanding the staffing model,
  enterprise stakeholders, organizational dynamics,
  awareness of the IT organizational structure,
  understanding IT roles and responsibilities,
  knowing how/when to engage vendors, IP and
  knowledge management, etc.
• Engineering
• Includes understanding the solution delivery
  process and methodology, with standards and
  associated frameworks, etc.
• Operations
• Includes knowledge of associated frameworks and
  methodologies, ability to read, create and manage
  associated artifacts, understanding of the
  infrastructure landscape, awareness of release
  and capacity management aspects, understanding of
  operational management concerns and processes,
  maintenance and support concerns and cost
  estimation, etc.
• Governance
• Includes knowledge of architectural framework
  and inputs, compliance issues (audit process,
  regulatory concerns, licensing requirements,
  etc.), policies (security policies, support model
  development, change management concerns,
  standards), ability to evaluate solution
  viability, understanding of capability
  development and management, etc.

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Foundational Capability 2 Design Skills

• Patterns and Best Practices
• Includes knowledge of design patterns, other
  patterns (data, hardware, software, network,
  security, etc.), understanding of architectural
  styles used in your domain, your industry, and
  your company, knowledge of anti-patterns
• Building blocks
• Includes understanding of available frameworks,
  components, reference implementations, in-house
  products, complimentary or overlapping systems,
  etc.
• Artifacts
• Includes aspects of successful prototypes,
  modeling notation and deliverables, domain
  specific languages/environments, ability to
  create architectural descriptions and design
  artifacts, etc.
• Tools
• Includes understanding of available and
  supported tools, understanding of related tools
  available in the industry and how and when to
  introduce a new tool, etc.
• Methodologies and Techniques
• Includes understanding of design methodologies,
  requirement analysis, traceability (design to
  requirements and design to implementation, bugs,
  etc.), understanding of synthesis and related
  processes, optimization approaches, evaluation
  practices, analysis skills, etc.

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Foundational Capability 3 Quality Attributes

• Types of Quality Concerns
• Includes Reliability, Availability, Scalability,
  Manageability, Maintainability, Supportability,
  Performance, Extensibility, Flexibility,
  Usability, Localization, Accessibility,
  Personalization/Customizability, Security
  attributes, etc.
• Management and Monitoring
• Includes understanding considerations for
  monitoring quality attributes, service level
  management, auditing processes, inputs into
  capacity planning, ability to react to new
  information, etc.
• Implementation Considerations
• Includes delivery and packaging considerations,
  balancing and optimizing quality attributes both
  in design and post-deployment, understanding the
  quality attribute trade-offs and impacts across
  domains, etc.

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Foundational Capability 4 Business-Technology
Strategy

• Business-Technology Alignment and Investment
  Strategy
• Includes awareness and understanding of business
  and technology strategy rationalization, business
  capability mapping, business requirements and
  constraints, BPE/BPM, technology capability
  projections and planning, investment
  prioritization and planning, etc.
• Valuation
• Includes ability to calculate return on
  investment, total cost of ownership, perform a
  viability assessment, and extract opportunity
  cost and value estimations from business
  analysis, etc.
• Industry Concerns
• Includes technology industry awareness, vertical
  awareness, understanding of the competitive
  landscape, etc.
• Business Fundamentals
• Includes understanding of business community
  organizational aspects, common business functions
  (HR, finance, marketing, sales, etc.) and support
  elements, legal considerations, etc.

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Foundational Capability 5 Human Dynamics

• Communications
• Includes verbal communication skills,
  recognition of audience, written, visual and
  diagrammatic skills, presentation skills,
  listening skills, meeting facilitation skills,
  effective questioning skills, negotiation skills
  (persuasion, etc.), extemporaneous speaking, peer
  interaction skills, etc.
• Situational Awareness
• Includes understanding team participation
  dynamics, adaptation, ability to flourish in
  diversity (understand perspective), ability to
  manage customer relationships, dealing with
  conflicts, interpersonal dynamics, political
  considerations (building personal influence,
  gaining credibility), etc.
• Leadership
• Includes team building and management skills,
  mentorship ability, coaching/inspiring, ability
  to provide thought leadership, promote ownership,
  define leadership strategies, etc.
• Crisis Management
• Includes ability to assess a given situation,
  identify and prioritize pain points, ability to
  address the hot items and provide solution
  recommendations and execution plans, etc.

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The Domain of the IT ArchitectExamples Software
and Infrastructure ArchitectureSoftware
Architecture (Part 1 of 2)
IT Environment
Design Skills
Quality Attributes
Bus-Tech Strategy

• Technology Frameworks knowledge of Technology
  Frameworks, Application Layering, platform
  specific development and design concerns,
  Systems, language considerations, devices, mobile
  computing implications, etc.
• Methodologies Knowledge of design methodologies,
  E2E Test Design and Implementation, Design
  Patterns, design notation, POC design and
  delivery, etc.
• Data Knowledge of RDBMS, Data modeling, Data
  warehousing, Business Intelligence, Data Access
  Strategy, Metadata management, Transformation,
  Information Architecture Strategy, etc.
• User Experience Knowledge of Web Portals, User
  Profile and Relationship Design, Customer
  Information System and CRM, UI Options,
  Personalization, Internationalization,
  Localization, Visualization, Context,
  Implementation, Access/Ease of Use, etc.
• Workflow Knowledge of State Management,
  Transition Evaluation, Rules Engines, BPM, etc.
• Messaging Knowledge of Communication, Messaging
  Technology, Transports, Message Formats,
  Protocols, Monitoring Concerns, Transformation,
  etc.

Human Dynamics
Info
Software
Business
Infra
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The Domain of the IT ArchitectExamples Software
and Infrastructure Architecture Software
Architecture (Part 2 of 2)
IT Environment
Design Skills
Quality Attributes
Bus-Tech Strategy

• Identity Knowledge of Federation, SSO,
  Authentication, authorization, etc.
• Transactions Knowledge of Transactional
  Integrity, Atomic and long-running transactions,
  Compensation, etc.
• Tools knowledge of Technology and Platform
  Selection, IDEs, modeling tools, Development and
  build environments, Source control systems, Asset
  mgmt systems, configuration mgmt processes and
  tools, etc.
• Service Network Knowledge of Service
  Orientation, Application and Service Mgmt, ESB,
  Component Architecture, Event Driven
  Architecture, Automated Policy Application, etc.

Human Dynamics
Info
Software
Business
Infra
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The Domain of the IT ArchitectExamples Software
and Infrastructure Architecture Infrastructure
Architecture
IT Environment
Design Skills
Quality Attributes

• Systems Management Knowledge of server
  management, client management, alerting,
  operations support, dashboards, email and
  messaging, directory services, virus and patch
  management, system tuning, etc.
• Device Management Knowledge of personal
  technology device and output management (mobile
  devices, documents, printers, fax, etc.)
• Storage Management Knowledge of storage
  management concerns and related tools, etc.
• Network Management Knowledge of networking
  protocols and devices, routing, load balancing
  and traffic prioritization, provisioning,
  addressing, network design, geography concerns
  and related tools, etc.
• Security Management Knowledge of access control
  approaches and mechanisms, remote and local
  concerns, policy (rules) definition and related
  tools, filters, etc.
• Intranet and Internet Services Knowledge of web
  servers, portals, app servers and related
  infrastructure, load balancing and routing device
  management, etc.
• Service Delivery and Support Knowledge of change
  management methodologies and tools, ITIL
  concepts, desktop provisioning and support, etc.

Bus-Tech Strategy
Human Dynamics
Info
Software
Business
Infra
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How Do I Build These Capabilities?
Training
Web-Based Training Targeted Professional
Training University Courses Self-Study
Community Involvement
On The Job
Direct Assignments Apprenticeship
Program Committees, Workgroups, etc. Observation
IASA Chapters User Groups Collaborative
Projects Open Source Communities
Intuition
If youve got it, use it
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Career Building Build Relationships

• Networking
• Unfortunate connotations - Implies ulterior,
  self-serving motive
• Knowledge workers are not inclined to network
  hierarchy is knowledge-based
• Networking is GOOD
• Networking builds Relationships
• Relationships Build Perspective
• Relationships lead to Opportunity
• Relationships are Enablers to an Architect
• Networking Rules
• Do not begin a relationship by asking for a job
• Prepare a short elevator speech about yourself
  to use in introducing yourself
• Use it only when appropriate during cold
  introductions
• Should include your name, what you do and an area
  of specialty
• It should feature something unique about you or
  your capabilities
• Provide a hook as a memory aide
• Provide value to the relationship
• Knowledge, perspective, references, questions or
  challenges, etc.
• Networking takes time one meeting does not a
  relationship make

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Career Building Be Open to Opportunity

• Adopt an Analyst Mindset
• Leverage your relationships to build your
  perspective on the technology industry and
  related verticals.
• Act with authority (and knowledge) about
  activities related to your work
• Architects provide analysis
• Architects dont simply repeat what theyve heard
  they know what the input means and why we
  should care
• Prepare for Opportunity
• Relationships lead to opportunity
• Be Prepared
• Learn to speak extemporaneously
• Draw upon examples/experiences to support your
  positions
• Know your audience
• Be a Champion
• Display professional and managerial courage
• Know when to back off
• Be Flexible
• Never stop listening
• Try to provide several options for a required
  solution

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Career Building Pitfalls

• The Danger of Being SME
• SME roles are dead-ends for IT Architects
• Be a SME on many subjects not just one
• Develop your broader skills and overtly market
  them within your organization
• Perception is Reality
• Dont be a Bad Apple
• Youre smart, and you may know best but please
  be gracious about it
• Negative attitudes infect entire organizations
  and are highly visible
• Negative commentary, however tongue-in-cheek it
  may be, is noticed
• Changing the paradigm is OUR responsibility
  were IT Architects
• If we are unhappy with the state of affairs, we
  are the failures
• Dont hog the spotlight
• Its important to credit yourself for successes,
  but only after you credit the team
• Highlight the teams accomplishments and you will
  be recognized as a good leader/mentor
• Never take credit for someone elses work. Just
  because you knew about it doesnt mean you were
  the mastermind.
• Dont appear to favor conferences, papers, and
  outside activities over your job

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Do Senior Architects Have a Career Path?
Progressive companies are building a career path
for their senior architects
CIO
Ask prospective employers about their career path
for architects Focus on report-to chain between
architects and CIO
CTO
Division Manager
Technical Fellow/ RD Lead
Senior Architect
Delivery or Ops Manager

• Other options
• Rotate out of the Technology Organization
• Join Marketing, Product Development,
  Procurement, Legal, etc.
• Rejoin Technology at a more senior position

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Questions?

• Angela Yochem angela.iasa_at_gmail.com