Thinking Like an Architect

What makes a good architect different from other technical roles? If you've ever thought about that - I recommend to check a talk from Gregor Hohpe "Thinking Like an Architect"

Gregor said that architects are not the smartest people, they make everyone else smarter.

And to achieve this, they use the following tools:
✏️ Connect Levels. Architects talk with management on a business language and with developers on a technical language. So they can translate business requirements to technical decisions and technical limitations to business impacts.
✏️ Use Metaphors. They use well-known metaphors to explain complex ideas in a simple way.
✏️ See More. Architects see more dimensions of the problem and can do more precise trade-off analysis.
✏️ Sell Options. Estimate and prepare options, sometimes defer decisions to the future.
✏️ Make Better Decisions with Models. Models shape our thinking. If solution is simple, the model is good, if it's not - there is probably something wrong with the model.
✏️ Become Stronger with Resistance. Not all people are happy with the changes, architects can identify what beliefs people hold that make their arguments rationale. By understanding this, architects can influence how people think and work.

I really like Gregor's talks, they are practical, make you think about standard things under different angle and contains a good piece of humor. So if you have time, I recommend to watch the full version.

#architecture