The Role of an Architect

 “Architects are seasoned, well-balanced professionals with good analytical and communication skills that raise the long-term success of IT projects.

“There are four core tenets I seek in architects in order to call them rock-solid role models in IT architecture profession:

-      They should be actively practicing architects
-      They should  communicate up (to business owners), down (to technologists), and across (to other architects)
-      They should bring predictability and repeatable success to IT projects
-      They should have a vendor-neutral approach when creating architectures”

-- Miha Kralj, Architect on Microsoft’s Architecture Strategy Team

“An Architect provides the bridge and translation point between a business owner’s vision/intent and a technologists implementation of a system.

They are responsible for defining and selling the shared system vision, designing the structure and cross cutting concerns of the system, and steering and measuring the ultimate implementation of the system to deliver business value.”

-- Graham Elliott, Architect with Microsoft Consulting Services in Australia