There seems to be rather aggressive issues when it comes to the roles of a Software Developer, Application Architect, and Architect. Where do the liabilities for each role come from? Who is responsible for what? How do they relate? For the sake of this article, there will be a focus on Application Architect and Architect. Let me explain.
The APA(Architect Practice Act) follows under a few a guidelines, outlining the legal details for working as an Architect. There seems to be some misconception between Application Architect and Architect, which form from two separate industries, one focuses on the architecture of buildings, while the former the architecture of software applications. Small research has shown that there is more of a response that these titles are completely different.
Despite the history of architecture, most Architects (buildings, interior design, etc.) are very strongly fervent about the title of Architect because of the examination, the formal training required, and justly so. Like Doctors or Lawyers, they are bound by legal responsibilities that by some reason or another are more highly elevated than other job titles such as Application Architect. However, software development has always had a long standing responsibility to security, user accessibility and number of other important design issues when considering patents and copyright laws.
Developers or Application Architects have to make important decisions about what technologies to use despite their cost and the legal implications that appear when using open source code. Now, the idea that they do not have the same elevated status at times, does not make it necessarily correct. Developers like other highly professional jobs, require examinations to achieve certification. Keep in mind, opinion could be slightly bias, the mind says that the facts ring true..
In fact, a lot of what is done with technology is simply modeling the real world and rendering it to something useful or even beautiful. Much like hitting the home button icon shaped like a house, there is trust that button will take you seemingly to something like home. Just as when see you an emergency exit door in a building you can trust that when you enter that door you can exit in an emergency.
However distinctive each title is there are some design fundamentals that shaped the two. Below is excerpt from MSDN about the origination of software design patterns commonly used to provide architecture for software,
During the course of a given development project, it is not uncommon to use the concept of design patterns to address certain problems relating to application design and architecture. However, the definition of design patterns is often difficult to convey with any level of accuracy; as such, the concept warrants a brief examination of origin and history.
The origin of software design patterns is attributed to the work of Christopher Alexander. As a building architect, Alexander noted the presence of common problems and related solutions within a given context. A design pattern, as Alexander termed this problem/solution/context triad, enabled an architect to rapidly address issues in a uniform manner during building design. First published twenty-five years ago, A Pattern Language: Towns, Buildings, Construction (Alexander et al, Oxford University Press, 1977) introduced over 250 architectural design patterns and provided the basis for the inclusion of this concept into the realm of software development.
In 1995, the software industry was first widely introduced to the design patterns as they directly related to building applications. The four authors, Gamma, Helm, Johnson, and Vlissides (collectively known as the Gang of Four, or GoF), intersected Alexander’s design patterns with the burgeoning object-oriented software movement in their work, Design Patterns: Elements of Reusable Object-Oriented Software (Addison-Wesley Pub Co, 1995). Based on their collective experience and examination of existing object frameworks, the GoF provided 23 design patterns that examined common problems and solutions encountered while designing and architecting applications. Following that publication, the concept of design patterns has grown to encompass many problems and solutions encountered in the software domain. In fact, the popularity of design patterns has given rise to the concept of anti-patterns, which are solutions that commonly worsen, rather than solve, the problem at hand.
From: Exploring the Observer Design Pattern
The concept of design patterns originates from an architect’s method of utilizing a pattern to solve a problem and create a solution. As noted their are some similarities to these two trades (Application Architect or Architect) though with some distinct differences.
Supposedly, what title or job role has more responsibility is based on the individual or person doing that specific job. For someone that has built their talent, done the work to reach a specific title of high responsibility should be given their due respect, though without the hope of belittling other titles. Safe to say, not everyone has a formal title though these titles exist for a reason, and we need all these titles to create a better world.
