Architects in Software and New Responsibilities

In the rapidly evolving digital world, architects hold great potential for delivering substantial business value, but many struggle to make a visible impact on strategic goals. Traditionally, their responsibilities have included selecting platforms, setting standards, and guiding technical direction. However, despite their importance in maintaining technological consistency and supporting infrastructure, these professionals are often underutilized when it comes to driving organizational agility and competitiveness directly.

The Future Of Software Architects

According to the recent *State of Enterprise Architecture 2023* report, only 26% of organizations believe that their architecture teams deliver significant strategic benefits, such as enhanced agility or faster time-to-market. This statistic highlights a significant gap between the potential of architects and the perceived value of their contributions. If left unaddressed, this gap may limit organizations' ability to transform and adapt to evolving business demands.

A solution lies in reframing the relationship between Chief Information Officers (CIOs) and architects. While CIOs understand the critical role of these professionals in selecting and implementing technology, they often view them more as enablers than as direct contributors to business outcomes. For organizations to fully realize the value of architects, CIOs must involve them more deeply in high-impact digital initiatives where they can contribute actively to shaping project outcomes.

This approach requires rethinking how architects are integrated into agile processes. By embedding them within agile teams, their role evolves from one of overseeing standards to engaging directly with cross-functional stakeholders, including product owners, delivery leaders, and even end-users. This type of engagement enables them to understand business needs and priorities firsthand, allowing them to evolve from behind-the-scenes strategists to active participants in digital projects.

Reimagining the roles of these professionals to include key leadership positions in agile settings is also critical. For example, they can act as product managers who address technical debt by defining a clear vision and managing prioritized backlogs. Alternatively, they can serve as delivery leaders on platform engineering projects, guiding agile teams in implementing secure and efficient solutions. These roles provide them with opportunities to influence both the technical execution and strategic direction of digital initiatives.

The Importance of Architects

In addition, positioning architecture experts as sponsors or advisors in essential areas, such as risk management, data governance, and citizen development, aligns technical strategies with broader business goals. This alignment helps to bridge the gap between technical requirements and business outcomes, enabling architecture teams to become champions of initiatives that link technology to tangible value. 

For architecture teams to achieve their full potential, CIOs must cultivate a culture in which they are recognized as strategic partners. Integrating them into agile leadership roles not only enhances their influence but also creates a more collaborative environment, where IT and business teams work together effectively to achieve impactful digital transformation. 

This shift ensures that architecture professionals play a critical role in shaping the future of business technology, driving innovation, and helping organizations navigate the complexities of today’s digital landscape.

The CIO-Enterprise Architect Dynamic

CIOs often have mixed feelings about enterprise architecture. While architects are crucial for selecting platforms and developing technical standards, they frequently struggle to demonstrate tangible business outcomes, leading to repeated explanations of their value to stakeholders.

According to the "State of Enterprise Architecture 2023," only 26% of respondents felt their architecture practice provided strategic benefits like improved agility and faster time to market. 

As CIOs face growing demands for competitive capabilities and security, it’s vital to rethink how enterprise architects can drive these strategic outcomes.

Rethinking Collaboration with Agile Teams

Redefining how enterprise architects interact with agile teams is essential to improve collaboration between business and IT. Architects can enhance their effectiveness by adopting agile roles and reshaping executive perceptions.

Organizations often create program charters that outline leadership roles for strategic initiatives. 

Key roles include a product manager, a delivery leader, and a program sponsor, with the latter responsible for securing funding and demonstrating business value.

Five Agile Roles for Enterprise Architects

Product Manager for Technical Debt  

Enterprise architects can take on product management roles to address technical debt effectively. They should define a vision, propose prioritized roadmaps, and oversee agile backlogs to ensure improvements are delivered.

Delivery Leader for Extendable Platforms  

CIOs should leverage enterprise architects with software backgrounds as delivery leaders for platform engineering initiatives. These architects can guide teams in developing secure and efficient platforms while ensuring agile teams adopt these solutions.

Sponsor for Operational and Risk Management Solutions  

Enterprise architects can act as sponsors for initiatives aimed at mitigating IT risks. By prioritizing investments in data governance and AI ethics, they can connect problems to solutions effectively.

Expert Advisor in Developing Standards  

Architects should serve as advisors, providing best practices to support self-organizing agile teams. By collaborating closely, they can empower teams to innovate while ensuring compliance with architectural standards.

Change Agent in Governing Citizen Development  

Assigning enterprise architects a role in governing citizen development programs can help them align more closely with departmental objectives. This involvement enables them to promote best practices while supporting innovation and productivity.

Engaged Architects Deliver Results

While these roles focus on leadership, enterprise architects can also actively contribute as team members. By collaborating with product owners and agile analysts, they can document non-functional requirements and engage in agile user stories.

CIOs looking to enhance the value of enterprise architecture should provide architects with agile leadership roles that align them with effective delivery models. This approach can bridge the gap between idealized standards and practical execution, ultimately improving outcomes for digital transformation initiatives.