A solution architect understands the needs and goals of an organization. Often, solution architects work for the organization as part of a team. All stakeholders, processes, teams, and organization management affect solution architect roles and their work. In this chapter, you will learn and understand the solution architect role and how solution architects fit within the organization. Following that, you will learn about the various types of solution architect and how they coexist in an organization. You may need a generalist solution architect and other specialist solution architects, depending on your project's complexity.
This chapter will provide details on the solution architect's responsibility and how it can impact an organization's success. A solution architect wears multiple hats and business executives heavily depend on their experience and decision-making to understand their technical vision.
The solution-and-software development methodology has evolved over the last few decades, from waterfall to agile environment, which a solution architect needs to adopt. This chapter will provide details about the Agile methodology and the iterative approach that a solution architect should take for the continuous improvement of solution delivery. Overall, agile thinking is very important for a solution architect.
In addition to solution design, solution architects need to handle various constraints to evaluate risk and plan risk mitigation. Also, quality management plays a significant role, which shouldn't be overlooked. The solution architect plays an essential role throughout the solution's life cycle (from requirement collection, solution design, and solution implementation to testing and launch).
A solution architect needs to engage regularly post-launch to ensure the scalability, high availability, and maintainability of the solution. For broader consumer products, the solution architect also needs to work with the sales team as a technology evangelist of the product through content publishing and public speaking in various forums.
In this chapter, you will learn about the following topics:
- Types of solution architect role
- Solution architect responsibilities
- Solution architects in an agile organization