The Pragmatic Architect
Creed is a set of statements and values that an Architect in any domain should
possess. It could almost be considered to be the culture of an Architect and
consists of three pillars:
Integrity
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I believe that integrity is crucially important as an architect.
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I believe that an architect’s biggest asset is the trust he is
afforded by the people he works for and the people he works with.
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I believe that without trust, no relationship can survive or
thrive.
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I ensure the interests of the Enterprise as a whole are addressed
even if they appear to conflict with immediate management.
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I stand up and give an unpalatable truth when no one else will,
even though it may mean I lose my job.
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I will seek to terminate a consulting engagement early if it
transpires that the customer can get no or little value by continuing.
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I always tell the truth.
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I never hide or disguise things.
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I tell clients what they need to hear, not what they want to
hear.
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I welcome being proved wrong and if I am, admit it as soon as
possible.
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I suggest only appropriate solutions - even if that is a 'pen and
paper solution'.
Communication
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I believe that communication is crucially important as an
architect.
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I believe that communication is key to me understanding other
people and getting others to understand me.
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I believe that without good communication, no relationship can
survive or thrive.
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I evangelise the value of Architecture and its benefits.
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I strive to create a "safe environment" where people
are free to express their views without fear of punishment or recrimination.
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I relate new things that people do not know to things that people
already know.
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I can vehemently agree with someone about subject/point “A” when
I have only recently vehemently disagreed with the same person about subject/point
“B”.
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I commit whatever time is required to explain and convince others
when I am right.
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I can always explain the reasoning behind my views.
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I can clearly communicate contextual, conceptual, logical and
complex issues and trade-offs to any audience.
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I am comfortable talking and presenting to large groups or
individuals at any level.
Understanding
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I believe that understanding is crucially important as an
architect.
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I believe that if we do not understand something, people cannot form
opinions or solutions to problems.
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I believe that without understanding, no relationship can survive
or thrive.
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I believe that the primary responsibility of an architect is to
enable informed decision making.
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I believe that the most important question to ask is - Why?
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I see patterns and structure in everything from traffic
congestion to Pop music and flowers.
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I spend more time understanding a problem domain than determining
a solution.
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I spend more time asking questions and listening than I do
talking.
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I can see disagreement between people when those people think
they are in agreement and vice versa.
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I can abstract anything or idea to a logical and conceptual
level.
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I constantly self-analyse what I do and how I do it to determine
how to improve myself and my work.
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I know the difference between Architecture & Engineering.
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I know the difference between types of abstraction
(Omission/Inclusion, Composition/Decomposition, Generalisation/Specialisation,
Idealisation/Realisation) and when and how to use them effectively.
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I know the difference between types of Idealisation/Realisation
(Contextual, Conceptual, Logical, Physical, Operational) and when and how to
use them effectively.
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I know the difference between a model, a meta-model, and
meta-meta-model.
You can sign the Pragmatic
Creed at www.PragmaticEA.com/creed
Qualities
The following details the personal qualities of Pragmatic Architects.
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Description
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Rationale
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Pragmatic
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They are always looking to
understand what the perfect solution can be but tempering that with a more
commercial and tactical view that relates to the realities of getting things
done.
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Architects need to be able
to see the long term perfect solution but they need to be able to temper that
unattainable goal with the tactics of getting things done.
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Enthusiastic
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They are passionate and
enthusiastic about what they do and how they do it.
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Enthusiasm is an inspiring
trait and Architects need to inspire others in order to affect and guide the
culture of an Enterprise.
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Agnostic
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They see all things from
Supercomputers to paper, pencils and people as possible solutions to business
problems and will propose the most appropriate for any given context not what
their favourite is.
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Architecture is all about
providing business value, not about and Architect’s “favourite” things.
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Articulate
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They are at home
communicating with everyone from the board to the graduate programmer or
claims clerk and in scales from one to one to speaking to hundreds at
conferences.
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Communication is a major
part of an Architects role. Being able to listen, ask the right questions,
and explain things in words that people can understand from CEOs to the tea
lady.
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Persistent
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They will not be
steamrollered and will stand up for what they believe in.
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A good idea or a worthy
point that needs to be made for the benefit of the Enterprise, needs to be
made regardless of an environment that may not let that happen.
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Strategic
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They are focused on long
term and lasting benefits rather than short term benefits which compromise
long term objectives.
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Long term and lasting
benefits are more important strategically to an Enterprise.
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Altruistic
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They are selfless, and
always focused on what is best for the Enterprise not what is best for them.
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Architects are 100% focused
on the Enterprise they work for. Even if this means losing their own job.
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Diplomatic
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They are sensitive to other
people’s drivers and the political context.
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Architecture is more to do
with people and culture than anything else. Architects therefore need to be
able to discuss often difficult and controversial subjects and truths with
tact and sensitivity.
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Open
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They are open to critique
and happy to be proved wrong and will assimilate and apply new information as
it arises.
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Architects do not have all
the answers. They need to be open to criticisms and open to adjusting their
views as new information is exposed or the environment changes.
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Generalist
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They have a broad base of
technical and business experience.
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Architects deal with breadth
rather than depth, and therefore need a broad range of business and technical
skills.
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Behaviours
The following details the personal behaviours of Pragmatic Architects.
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Description
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Rationale
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Persuade
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They persuade others of
their views and the way forward rather than dictating.
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Architects rely on others
to achieve their aims and as such people must be persuaded of an approach.
When people buy into an idea or approach they are much happier and much more
productive.
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Learn
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They pick up and assimilate
new information quickly and easily and are always open to new ideas,
businesses, technologies and processes.
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Business and the world is
an ever-changing place. New things are happening all the time and Architects
need to quickly understand them and how they impact the business.
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Investigate
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They have a nose to seek
out things that don’t make sense or could pose threats and risks, and the
ability to get to the bottom of them.
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Things that don’t make
sense are usually problems or opportunities. Either way, Architects need to
be able to dig into things where necessary to expose them so that they can be
addressed.
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Abstract
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They abstract levels of
detail to higher levels to aid understanding and to see hidden relationships
and patterns.
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Architecture is a lot about
seeing structure and patterns. In order to do this an Architect needs to be
able to see and synthesise these higher level structures from underlying
information that can be very detailed and/or incomplete.
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Expose
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They seek to expose
pertinent information to business leaders to enable them to make more
informed decisions.
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Decisions will get made
regardless of whether full and/or pertinent facts are known. Architecture is
all about making sure people who make decisions are fully aware of the risks,
issues and implications before the decision is made.
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Facilitate
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They guide discussions and
workshops in order to get the best out of people.
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Architecture is a lot about
communication and also about liberating information from others. It is also
important to be able to guide discussions and to bring people together where
there is agreement and to facilitate valued discussed where there are
differences.
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Lead
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They lead, motivate,
inspire and enable others to reach their potential and create the environment
where people want to follow them.
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Architecture is all about
culture, and therefore to adopt and make the cultural changes required,
Architects need to be able to take individuals and the Enterprise on a
journey and that journey must be by mutual consent not by dictation.
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Do you think people with these
Qualities and Behaviours would be beneficial to your Enterprise?
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If so, in what parts of your
Enterprise and in what roles?
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Does your Enterprise motivate
people to strive for these Qualities and Behaviours or punish them
(implicitly or explicitly) for having them?
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How are people received, and
what happens to people who exhibit these Qualities and Behaviours in your
Enterprise?
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Do you evaluate your current
employees or new hires using these Qualities and Behaviours
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If not, which Qualities and
Behaviours do you actively look for?
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Will you sign the Creed?
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