Head First Software Architecture

[paul nisset]

Hi ,
I recently worked with a software architect who was not a very good programmer. It seems like that would be a pre requisite for being a software architect. Most other software architects I've come across are very good programmers.

What are your thoughts on this ? Can someone do  a good job on designing a system that they don't know how/are not able  to implement?

thanks ,
Paul

[Raju Gandhi]

Hello Paul,

Thank you for the question. We firmly believe in the idea of an "hands-on" architect, in that, an architect can and should not shy away from writing code. It is, after all, to your point, paramount to being able to designing a good system. Thus, it behooves architects to not only stay active in the development process, but also keep up with latest trends in technology, and be able to articulate the pros/cons of technical choices.

Architecture is and should be iterative. Starting with a particular architecture in mind, you are going to hit technical constraints and impediments, which need to evaluated and the architecture adjusted. And this requires strong technical skills.

Hope this helps.

Regards,
Raju