Mehbub Software development gives you a great way to enter the tech industry. Moreover, becoming a software developer isn’t very difficult. A grind of a few months, mastering a few technologies, and you are good to go.
But does the ladder to the top stop at software development? Not at all! After gaining a handful of valuable experience in roles such as software development and software engineering, the way forward should be to become a software architect!
According to Indeed, a global job-hunting forum, software architects earn $138,032 per year on average, which is more than what software engineers and developers do.
In this article, we will take a thorough look at the following:
- Who is a Software Architect?
- Roles and Responsibilities of a Software Architect
- Must have skills for a Software Architect
- How you can be a Software Architect in 7 Steps
Who is a Software Architect?
As the name suggests, a software architect is someone who is responsible for the end-to-end development of software systems!
Not getting the gist of it? It means they plan the entire process of the software cycle, from ideation and gathering requirements to designing and development to the maintenance of the software system.
A software architect uses their years of experience in development to maximize their performance!
This means that a software architect is someone with extraordinary technical skills and a formidable grip over the dos and don’ts of working with software systems. Hence, making their role an integral part of a tech company’s success!
Roles and Responsibilities of a Software Architect
Now, what tasks does a software architect perform on a daily basis? Considering their senior position, being an architect is not an easy job.
At each stage of the software life cycle, a software architect is completely immersed, with no rest at all.
It is their job to keep track of the system and progress at each and every step, making sure that the system turns out to be nothing less than perfect!
I will be discussing the major tasks that a software architect performs at every important phase of the software development life cycle.
#1 Initial Stage of Software Development
Every innovation begins with an idea, and so do software systems! But the ideation stage is not as simple as it may sound. Everything should be taken into consideration, and that is where a software architect comes in!
Following are the major tasks at this stage:
- Gathering necessary requirements
- Formulating functional and non-functional requirements
- Figuring out the best technologies to use
- Drafting the budget that would be needed.
- Identifying potential risks and shortcomings, along with ways to mitigate them
- Making timelines and milestones that need to be followed.
All these responsibilities are necessary to begin the actual work of designing and constructing the project.
#2 The Prototyping Stage
Before working on the final software, an initial prototype of a product is designed to better understand the final goal in a more practical way. At this stage, the major responsibilities of a software architect include the following:
- Making sure the design of the system is viable.
- Look out for areas for improvement in the initial planning.
- Detailed analysis of interface and experience of the system for their users.
#3 Turning the Idea into Reality: Development Phase
After prototyping and planning, the time comes to make the product a reality. This is where the role of software development comes in; it is the most critical and crucial component of every software!
At this important phase, a software architect actively performs the following duties:
- Setting up programming guidelines and conventions to be followed
- Coordinating tasks to individuals and teams to streamline the development process
- Meet the continuously changing product requirements
- Write code examples, basic roadmaps, and programming standards.
At this stage, software architects are not only working actively on the codebase, but they also act as leaders, supervisors, and mentors!
#4 Testing and Deployment of the System
Even if the product is ready and the development team takes a sigh of relief, a software architect is always at work! Before the launch, a software system is thoroughly tested to tackle inevitable bugs and errors. A software architect performs the following responsibilities in this phase:
- Monitor the quality process.
- Ask for revisions, wherever necessary.
- Managing the release of software.
This was a generic overview of the duties a software architect must be part of! However, some roles vary from company to company.
What Skills are Needed for a Software Architect?
Being a software architect looks like an amazing job that comes with great power and reputation within the company.
But with great power comes great responsibility! And to perform those responsibilities, a software architect must showcase solid skills.
The skills needed to be a good software architect include the following:
- Leadership Skills
- Substantial knowledge of Software Process modeling
- Excellent grip over Programming Languages and Software Tools
- Outstanding communication skills.
- The ability to manage and organize tasks.
- Being able to plan out things in great detail.
These skills are gained through experience working in teams and contributing in the software industry.
Be a software Architect in 5 Simple Steps!
I will be giving a brief overview of five things you can do to boost your career growth and land your first job as a full-time software architect!
#1 Get the Right Education
#2 Gain Experience
Working in an industry as a software engineer or software developer is mandatory to be eligible to be a software architect.
The professional industrial experience gives you the necessary awareness of how things work in tech companies, how to deal with big code repositories, and how products should be developed.
#3 Improve Your Technical Skills
A software architect needs to keep themselves updated with the latest technology and industry standards. This means that the process of learning new skills and tools never stops for a software architect!
#4 Work on Your Soft Skills
In addition to the technical skills, the ability to communicate, mentor, coordinate, and lead from the front is a must for a software architect!
You can opt for online courses or look out for a professional mentor to enhance your soft skills.
#5 Make Networking Your Best Weapon
To maximize your potential and get the best out of your job, you need to understand the power of networking!
Your network is your net worth! And with proper networking, you can seek out opportunities for growth that you had no idea about!
