Architect Role and Expectations - Part 2

Yesterday in Architect Role and Expectations - Part 1 we started drawing out what the profile of a software architect looks like following the work of Mark Richards and Neal Ford. Today I want to wrap this up with a final look at the 4 additional expectations:

5. Familiarity with a Diverse Technical Landscape: this plays well with the expectations for an architect to stay current with the latest trends. I find this to be a bit redundant but it does cover different aspects of a same overarching theme: being aware of what's out there past, present and future. In this case we refer to exposure to multiple technologies and frameworks. Having awareness of the realm of possibilities can help in guiding decisions and reinforcing some. You don't have to be deeply expert in all the things but you should posses a high level understanding and be able to dig deeper only if needed. The focus is on breadth while you can still leverage some of the areas you know a lot about. This doesn't come without effort, you have to stretch yourself and experiment. I'm going through a similar journey with HTMX, after years of sticking with React I resumed building awareness of the incredibly rich (maybe too rich) web dev world. What are the selling points of the other options out there?
6. Know the Business: there's no escaping the fact that if an architect doesn't have familiarity with the domain they are working in, it becomes increasingly hard to effectively communicate design decisions. I see this as developing an understanding of the industry and how the company product fits in it, without that level of knowledge communication inherently becomes less effective and credible. Having a level of competence for the business domain helps speaking the same language as other stakeholders that might not understand the value of the system you're guiding the development team to build.
7. Soft Skills: ah isn't it that obvious? An architect is effectively a technical leader, and to guarantee good outcomes you need to have strong leadership skills. This is important for everyone but as you work at a higher level of abstraction most of the effort is done by guiding people, not computers. Lacking interpersonal skills can make this difficult and even more than necessary when you inevitably have to resolve conflicts. You work with product teams, project managers, C-suite folks and your ability to interface with each person properly can make the difference in bringing the team together to work towards the same goal. At the end of the day you work with people most of the time. You might as well be good at it!
8. Navigating Politics: who doesn't like politics! Jokes aside politics are inevitable, working on interpersonal skills applies here too. On top of refining your leadership know-how you need to master negotiations. There are entire books dedicated to that but the goal of this expectations is that you should be prepared to face situations where a decision is challenged by everyone. Different stakeholders push for different things, a quicker approach to get to market faster, a correct approach for a long-lasting system quality, a cheaper approach to keep costs under control. It is up to the architect involved in these conversations to negotiate. This doesn't mean always finding a way to "win", I see this as an effort to understand stakeholders priorities and navigating those appropriately. If the cost is high but greatly justifiable long term, the architect should be able to articulate that. This expectation goes hand in hand with the previous one. As long as there's Alignment having these negotiations can become much easier.

Thoughts

The profile is coming together. The most challenging expectations are the last two. Developing leadership and negotiation skills is not simple and something that has to be done deliberately. Unlike tech where you can do it over and over again until you get familiar or good at it, negotiations happen when they happen. I would recommend to start now developing a framework for yourself that you can challenge every opportunity you get. There are a myriad of books out there and I'd suggest reading a few to find what resonates the best. But be on the lookout, negotiations actually happens way more often than you think and the sooner you start exercising those muscles the better.