Working Group 4

1
Working Group 4

• Architectural Compentency

2
What does it mean for an organization to be
proficient at Architectural Centric Practices?

• Business Success

3

• How do you measure success
• backwards looking derived from history?
• is it forward looking? ability to meet new
  opportunities?
• Architecture as a process
• Cost / benefit of process?
• Where is the value?
• Hardware/Software?

4
What are the lynchpins?

• Social and technical indicators
• Business strategy and technical strategy must
  be aligned with good flow of information.
• Architectural awareness (trade-offs and risks)
• Ability to make decisions and awareness of
  rationality behind decision (indicator evidence).
• Salary company values architects
• Defined role of architect with clearly defined
  responsibility and authority.
• Who are my peers?
• Are the current architects competent?
• Does management understand they are competent?
• More than just technical skills.

5
Lynchpins contd

• Single point of accountability who is in
  charge?!
• Wide awareness, domain, technology, attends
  conference. Organization recognizes need for
  personal growth.
• Defined role and responsibility or clear
  ability to organize
• Communication clear understandable exchange of
  information. Facilitates communication between
  team members. Happy to share knowledge.
• Effective team player.
• Architect is ready to move on (not entrenched or
  defending their position)
• Willing to share knowledge, enable someone else
  to do their job.

6
Lynchpins contd

• Can assessor understand architecture after a
  reasonable time?
• How well is architectural knowledge shared in the
  organization?
• Truck number?
• Are documentation artifacts used?
• How is architectural knowledge persisted/communica
  ted? Transferrable?
• Domain expertise?
• Just enough architecture?

7
What are the key indicators?

• Please give me a good and bad architectural
  experience at this company?
• Value of architecture to company
• Do those in charge understand it?
• When is the architecture engaged in the software
  development lifecycle?
• Would you put the architect in front of the
  customer.
• Does the architect have access to the customer?
  (how many tiers between customer and architect?)
• Is architect on management team?
• Architect can answer what is good about your
  architecture? and relate answer to business goal
  (rather than engineering)