Ο Michael Platt γράφει δύο πολύ ενδιαφέροντα άρθρα στο blog του για το τί είναι αρχιτεκτονική, γιατί τη χρειαζόμαστε, τις ικανότητες που πρέπει να έχει ένας αρχιτέκτοντας και τα διαφορετικά είδη αρχιτεκτόνων.

Στο πρώτο άρθρο, με τίτλο Architecture and Architects, αναφέρει μεταξύ άλλων τα εξής ενδιαφέροντα:

• What is architecture?
  IT architecture is the use of models, levels of abstraction and relationships in IT systems and processes to manage complexity and simplify communication.
• What skills do architects have?
  Architects are able to take complex problems and simplify them by using models and the communicate the elements of the problem to a wide rang eo people. The specific skills that they have are are:
• Leadership: Architects can develop partnerships with stakeholders across the organization on their projects; that they can mentor others; that they develop and form strong teams; and that they achieve successful results.
• Technology Depth: ... deep understanding of the concepts and application of a number of core technologies ... plus the ability to quickly assimilate information about new technologies.
• Technology Breadth: Architects understand architectural best practices and are able to apply them across a breadth of technologies to orchestrate a solution...
• Strategy: Architects demonstrate understanding of enterprise architectural frameworks such as Zachmann and operational frameworks such as ITIL and be able to use these frameworks in their projects....
• Organization Dynamics: ... They present the ability to pick the right battles at the right time and then recognize the political landscape ...
• Tactical/Process: ... gather and refine project requirements from both a technical and business perspective...
• Communication: Architects can maintain well-written and accurate project documentation; they are able to present information on a technical subject in a concise and measured manner; they have the ability to influence others; they have the ability to manage conflicts effectively; and to tailor their communication to the needs of the target audience.

Στο Architecture Type Definitions  περιγράφει τρία διαφορετικά είδη architect:

1. Enterprise Architects
   Enterprise Architects work on the architecture of the whole organization, including business, technical, software, infrastructure, security etc. They are concerned in bringing together the organizations IT architectures (software, security, solutions and infrastructure) as a homogenous whole and matching it to the business needs and culture of the organization. There are three main strands to Enterprise architecture; strategic direction, Portfolio analysis for integration and Governance. Enterprise Architects provide strategic guidance to the solutions and infrastructure architects and have organizational wide funding.
2. Solution Architects
   Solution Architects work on the architecture of a specific project or solution, normally for a part of the business such as HR or Sales. Typically they architect the solution to a specific business problem and ensure that the architecture meets the business (cost, schedule, scalability, availability etc) and functional requirements. They take strategic direction from the Enterprise Architect, operational guidance from the Infrastructure Architect and funding from specific business groups.
3. Infrastructure Architects
   Infrastructure architects provide the architecture for any technology that is provided for the whole organization as opposed to technology for a specific business group. Typically they architect the infrastructure elements that every business group requires such as networks, storage, operating systems, security, mail etc and the architecture of the management solutions and processes for all IT systems. They take strategic direction from the Enterprise Architect, line of business project support from the Solution Architects and funded by the organization.
   
   

Αξίζει να διαβάσετε τα ίδια τα άρθρα καθώς ο Platt παραθέτει links σε πολλά άρθρα για το κάθε θέμα.