In the previous chapter, you learned about solution architecture and how various stakeholders impact solution strategies—now, you will understand the solution architect's role. The software solution can develop without a solution architect, depending on the project's size, but for a large project it is a requirement to have a dedicated solution architect. The success or failure of the plan depends on the solution architect.

There is always a need for someone who can make architectural decisions for the team and drive team collaboration with stakeholders. Sometimes, it is required to have multiple solution architects in the team, depending on the size of the project. The different types of solution architect are depicted in Figure 2.1, showing how they have different responsibilities in the organization.

Figure 2.1: Types of solution architect

An organization can have multiple types of solution architect. Solution...

Now we have broken down the various roles of a solution architect, we will next take a look at the details of the responsibilities of a solution architect. A solution architect is a technical leader in a customer-facing role, which comes with many responsibilities. The primary responsibility of a solution architect is to convert organization business visions into a technical solution and work as a liaison between businesses and technical stakeholders. A solution architect uses broad technological expertise and business experience to ensure the success of the solution's delivery.

A solution architect's responsibilities may differ slightly based on the nature of the organization. Often, in a consulting organization, a solution architect may be dedicated to a particular project and customer, while in a product-based organization, a solution architect may be working with multiple customers to educate them on a product...

In the last half decade, you may have seen the rapid adoption of the agile methodology. In this competitive market, an organization needs to be proactive to rapid changes, and bring output to the customer very quickly. Fast innovation and release can only be possible if organizations are adapting quickly and respond to change faster to accommodate user demand, which means there must be flexibility built into every part of the organization and solution architecture.

To be successful in an agile environment, a solution architect needs an agile mindset, and must adopt a rapid delivery method by continuously working with stakeholders to fulfill their needs. First, let's understand a little bit more about the agile methodology. This is a vast topic, and in this section, we will see a high-level overview.

Why the agile methodology?

Agile can create and respond to changes to make a profit in a fast-moving business environment...

In this chapter, you have learned how the solution architect fits into an organization, and how different kinds of solution architect roles may coexist within one. There are generalist solution architect roles, such as the enterprise solution architect, solution architect, technical architect, cloud architect, and architect evangelist. The generalist solution architect has a broad knowledge of technology and may develop in-depth expertise in a particular area. The specialist solution architect dives deep into other required areas of the project. The specialist solution architect possesses in-depth knowledge of their area of expertise, with some of the most common specialist solution architect roles being the network architect, data architect, security architect, infrastructure architect, and DevOps architect.

You have also seen solution architect responsibilities in great detail. Solution architects wear multiple hats; they work with stakeholders across the organization...