{"id":8200,"date":"2021-03-18T11:51:17","date_gmt":"2021-03-18T11:51:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.markwilson.co.uk\/blog\/?p=8200"},"modified":"2021-03-30T15:26:39","modified_gmt":"2021-03-30T14:26:39","slug":"what-is-it-architecture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.markwilson.co.uk\/blog\/2021\/03\/what-is-it-architecture.htm","title":{"rendered":"What is IT architecture?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I’ve been having a few conversations recently about what IT architecture is – both from the perspective of developing the practice that I run at risual<\/a> and from conversations with others who are looking to develop an IT architecture capability in their organisations. It’s become abundantly clear to me that the term means different things to different people and is often abused. And that’s without considering that leading figures in construction would argue that IT folks shouldn’t be using the name “Architect” at all<\/a>!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To be fair, it seems that even (construction) Architects are arguing over whether someone is an Architect or not<\/a>. Which is somewhat amusing to me as the collective noun for an architect is… an “argument of Architects”. I kid you not!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In IT, for some organisations, becoming an Architect has become the term for a senior technical person who understands large chunks of the organisation’s IT. But that’s not what it should be. Architecture is not design. But design is part of architecture. Confused? Bear with me, please.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Etymology<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Let’s look at the definition of the word “architecture”<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

architecture<\/strong> \/???k?t?kt??\/ noun<\/em><\/p>

1. the art or practice of designing and constructing buildings.”schools of architecture and design”<\/p>

[e.g.] the style in which a building is designed and constructed, especially with regard to a specific period, place, or culture. “Georgian architecture”.<\/p>

2. the complex or carefully designed structure of something. “the chemical architecture of the human brain.<\/p>

[e.g.] the conceptual structure and logical organization of a computer or computer-based system.<\/p>

Origin: mid 16th century: from Latin\u00a0architectura<\/em>, from\u00a0architectus<\/em>.<\/p>Oxford Languages<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

So there we have it, architecture is about conceptual structures and logical organisation. It is not about detailed design. Ergo, an IT Architect, is not just<\/em> an experienced technician. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unfortunately though, if we look at the definition of an “architect”<\/a> it all starts to fall apart. The noun for the computing sense of the word is defined as “a person who designs hardware, software, or networking applications and services of a specified type for a business or other organization” and the verb (if you can consider that architecting<\/em> is really a thing – I don’t!) is “design and configure (a program or system)”. Basically, in computing, we seem to be using architect as a synonym for designer!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Different types of architect<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Maybe looking at definitions of words was not as helpful as it should have been. So let’s consider the types of Architect we have in the IT world:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Technical Architect<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes referred to as a Domain Architect (reflecting that their knowledge relates to a particular area, or domain), the Technical Architect is probably the most common use of the architecture term in IT.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There may be variations reflecting a given domain – for example Software Architect, Data Architect, Infrastructure Architect, Security Architect. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Each of these will be able to take a logical building block (see Solution Architect) and define how this part of the solution should be achieved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There will be elements of design – but that design should be broader than just technology and will often rely on specialists for expert knowledge.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Solution Architect<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Solution Architects are concerned with solutions. By that, I mean that they view a problem as a set of requirements that need to be solved by a combination of people, business processes or technology and come up with a solution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The solution will be constructed of logical building blocks. For example, a requirement to create a website may include components such as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n