Technical Architecture #

Architect is an overloaded, and overused term.

It describes a necessary role which is often lacking in large IT businesses and projects, but today

The term “Enterprise Architect” came into widespread use between 1994 and 1997, and refers to design and planning change at an organisational level, with technology decisions just one element of this. The term “Technical Architect” is older but appears to have been in use since before 1990 and refers to planning the software and hardware that support a business, with a focus on interactions between systems. See also Zachmann Framework - information systems architecture 1987 => enterprise architecture 1992

What they have in common is a view of software development like a construction project, which needs an overall vision and design to which all participants should adhere. This view made some sense decades ago due to the significant cost of software development in terms of equipment, time and people. Today it is possible to do much more with less and over-prescriptive architectures are often an unhelpful barrier to change.

Each of these have developed over the years, and today there is a greater focus on planning for and enabling change than on long term visions. Evolutionary architectures are a prime example of this.

When technology is used to transform business the approach is generally top down, focused on processes and how they can be automated. Putting people first, driving change based on who is available and trusting them will allow organisations to respond quickly in a fast changing environment. Leadership should focus onsetting a vision, and managing incentives, metrics and guardrails to best meet business objectives.