Cracking the IT Architect Interview - Software Architecture, System Architecture & EA

[Billy Tsai]

Hi Sameer,

Does this book cover how to progress through the career path of as a software professional from a software application architect to software system architect then finally to an enterprise architect?

Does it explain the differences in between a software architect, system architect, IT architect(e.g. IBM likes to use ITA for their technical consultants), and enterprise architect? because software architect, and system architect are used interchangeably.

Does the book cover specific software technologies? or architectural patterns and tactics?

Does the book cover any software development methodology(e.g. agile/scrum, waterfall)? there have been lots of debates about if agile methodology is adopted that the role of an architect actually diminishes.

Does the book cover any specific EA framework or methodology(e.g. TOGAF)? because lots big consulting companies and companies with large IT organizations(e.g. banks) want their architects to have TOGAF experience and knowledge.

Thanks,
Billy Tsai

[sameer paradkar]

Hi Billy,

          I have gone thro' your entire stack of questions and my answer is yes it covers all those domains / topics.  The book is very elaborate as it include 12+ domains and more that 500+ questions.  The entire TOC is there for you to read on Amazon or any other site where the book is online currently so you know what is expected from the title. Per-se some of the terminologies we do have a lot jargons and buzz words floating around all the time so that apart I have tried leveraging the industry standards and best practices nomenclature were ever applicable.

Key concepts that will be covered in the book are:
• IT Strategy & NFR, Methodologies, best practices and frameworks
• Best practices architecting, KPI and success factors
• Concepts, principles and guidelines for various domains
• Leadership & Architecture Governance
• Enterprise Architects IT Strategy & NFR, Methodologies, best practices and frameworks
• Common pitfalls to be avoided and patterns to leverage
• Emerging Technologies – Social Mobile Analytics Cloud
• Techniques related to analysis, NFRs and Solutioning
• SOA & Integration
• Techniques, best practices, and patterns for web and enterprise topologies
• Frameworks and methodologies to evangelize web and enterprise applications
• Solution Architecture Q & A Scenarios
• Techniques, models & case studies
• Tools, best practices, techniques, and processes
• Design guidelines used for architecting applications & systems
• Understand various best practices, principles and patterns
• Get a holistic view of key concepts, design principles, and patterns related to evangelizing web & enterprise applications
• Use the book as a reference guide for adopting best practices, standards and design guidelines
• Concepts, principles, KPI & Success factors for various domains


Regards,
Sameer

[Burk Hufnagel]

Is there a Glossary or some place in the book where you define the acronyms so people who don't know what they stand for can find out? I know it's possible to look them up online,for someone who doesn't know them it can be hard to guess which entry is the right one then Google returns several candidates.

[Billy Tsai]

Do you think the TOGAF certification is worth pursuing then?

EA is more about information management stuff than purely technical stuff right?