The group is currently looking to add a few more head count.  This need lead us to that arduous task of phone and in-person interviews. During these endeavors to evaluate potential professionals to procure I have found that the way a Technical Architect functions is often much nuanced.  Let us look at what a dictionary says an architect is:

 

ar·chi·tect      /??rk??t?kt/ [ahr-ki-tekt] Pronunciation

–noun 1. a person who engages in the profession of architecture. 

2. a person professionally engaged in the design of certain large constructions other than buildings and the like: landscape architect; naval architect. 

3. the deviser, maker, or creator of anything: the architects of the Constitution of the United States. 

–verb (used with object) 4. to plan, organize, or structure as an architect: The house is well architected. 

 

The dictionary is very broad in explanation but correct in the general sense.  We get many candidates from a very large telecommunications company that is a big employer in the area.  However, the reality of the life an architect there is much different than ours.  The telecommunications company seems to operate by having very specific silos of subject matter experts.  The role of their architect is to shop a high-level, standardized (dare I say almost cookie cutter) design between the various silos looking for consensus and commitment.  I see this position as one of almost a technology project manager, the real value lies in the SME teams.  It seems that the person in the architect role looses technical savvy over time to the point were even some basic technical concepts are lost.

 

Telecom Architect Model

Telecom Architect Model

 

The best description of what it is that a Technical architect, either strategic or tactical, is that they gather requirements from the business unit and provide both a high-level and a detailed-level solution design.  This solution design must be in-line with the business needs.  Essentially, an architect is a broker or translator of business requirements and technology.  An architect conveys technological issues in a manner that the business can understand. In the other direction, an architect will translate the business’s requirements and needs to the implementers and support staff of the underlying infrastructure.

 

Our Company's Model

Our Company

 

Dictionary Reference:

 

architect. (n.d.). Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Retrieved October 09, 2008, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/architect