Summary
A lead solution architect is responsible for a group of solution architecture projects, or a single more complex area. They may lead teams of more junior solution architects.
At this role level, you will:
build relationships with senior stakeholders across multiple business or technical areas in the organisation
be proactive in identifying opportunities to improve the organisation
support multiple architecture projects or programmes
find and use emerging technologies and approaches
develop best practice for solution architecture
Background
| Description | Background |
|---|---|
| Is familiar with the systems development lifecycle and typical problems associated with the implementation and operations of information systems, from initial concept through development and implementation to operation and support. Has detailed practical knowledge of the organisation's IT infrastructure and software development and maintenance methods, tools and techniques. Is conversant with the organisation's IT strategy, policies and standards, and any industry regulations/constraints. Has a good appreciation of risk management, change management, configuration management, reliability and safety methods and the use of metrics. | Prior Knowledge and Skills |
Work Activity Components
| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| Change programmes (ARCH)(Level 5) | Within a business change programme, leads the preparation of technical plans and in liaison with business assurance and project staff, ensures that appropriate technical resources are made available. |
| Technical assurance (ARCH)(Level 5) | Advises on appropriate technical assurance criteria, and the conduct of quality reviews of technical products. Ensures change control is applied to specifications and designs. Ensures the adequacy and effective use of quality control procedures in relation to solution architecture components. |
| Technical exceptions (ARCH)(Level 5) | Monitors technical progress, informing project management of major technical issues and making recommendations on their resolution. Advises on the impact of technical exceptions (including requests for changes, deviations from specifications, etc), and ensures that there is proper technical assessment of all exceptions. Informs project management of major technical issues and makes recommendations on their resolution. |
| Innovation initiatives (INOV) (Level 5) | Investigates and develops innovative methods of exploiting IT assets, to the benefit of the organisation and the community. Develops business proposals to exploit technology in line with the organisation's mission, objectives and strategy, clearly articulating, and formally reporting benefits. |
| Idea stimulation (INOV) (Level 5) | Encourages and motivates innovation communities, teams and individuals to share creative ideas and learn from failures. Manages and facilitates the communication and open flow of creative ideas between interested parties and the set-up of innovation networks and communities. |
| Work allocation, support and delegation (PEMT) (Level 4) | Allocates routine tasks and assigns project work to individuals, according to their particular skills, capabilities, and development needs. |
| Guidance, performance and feedback (Level 4) | Provides direction, support and guidance as necessary, in line with individual's skills and abilities setting appropriate and effective boundaries. Sets achievable goals, monitoring and acknowledging performance and supporting individual and team development. Collects data on individual and team performance. Gives regular feedback to team members and leads them to achieve their full potential. |
| Empowerment and role model (PEMT) (Level 4) | Facilitates effective working relationships between team members. Motivates team members to maintain a high level of performance. Engages with, and empowers team members. Acts as a role model for individuals and team members, setting a standard, acting professionally at all times and working to a professional code of conduct and ethics. |
Behavioural Skills
| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| Analytical Thinking | Acquiring a proper understanding of a problem or situation by breaking it down systematically into its component parts and identifying the relationships between these parts. Selecting the appropriate method/tool to resolve the problem and reflecting critically on the result, so that what is learnt is identified and assimilated. |
| Conceptual Thinking | Acquiring understanding and insights regarding the underlying issues in complex problems or situations through the development of abstract representations, the identification of patterns and the analysis of hypotheses. |
| Planning and Organisation | Determining a course of action by breaking it down into smaller steps and by planning and resourcing each of these, making allowance for potential problems and escalating if necessary. |
| Customer Focus | Understanding the needs of the internal or external customer and keeping these in mind when taking actions or making decisions. |
| Initiative | Being proactive, anticipating opportunities for systems, service or product improvement or development and taking appropriate action(s). |
| Creativity | Taking innovative approaches to problem solving and/or devising inventive and creative solutions. |
| Organisational Awareness | Understanding the hierarchy and culture of own, customer, supplier and partner organisations and being able to identify the decision makers and influencers. |
| Cross-Functional and Inter-Disciplinary Awareness | Understanding the needs, objectives and constraints of those in other disciplines and functions. |
| Interacting with People | Establishing relationships, contributing to an open culture and maintaining contacts with people from a variety of backgrounds and disciplines. Effective, approachable and sensitive communicator in different communities and cultures. Ability to adapt style and approach to meet the needs of different audiences. |
| Providing Direction | Directing others to undertake specified tasks within a defined timescale. |
| Follow-up and Monitoring | Checking progress against targets, taking action to resolve exceptions/ issues and reporting and escalating where necessary. |
| Critical Thinking | The ability to think clearly and rationally; review and evaluation of processes and outputs; the ability to engage in reflective and independent thinking; reasoned thinking involving critique. |
Technical Skills
| Title | Details | Depth |
|---|---|---|
| Application Systems | Technical or functional understanding of Commercial Off-the-Shelf (COTS) applications and/or other bespoke software deployed within the organisation in order to provide system configuration, audit, technical, and/or functional support. | Proficient in |
| Configuration Management | The discipline that gives precise control over IT assets and components by recording and maintaining information about the 'configuration items', including hardware devices, computer programs, software licences, documentation, network devices, and data centre facilities (virtualised and static). | Familiar with |
| Networking and Communications | The planning and management of the interaction between two or more networking systems, computers or other intelligent devices. | Familiar with |
| Operational/Service Architecture | Knowledge of the IT/IS infrastructure and the IT applications and service processes used within own organisation, including those associated with sustainability and efficiency. | Proficient in |
| Business Environment | The business environment relating to own sphere of work (own organisation and/or closely associated organisations, such as customers, suppliers, partners and competitors), in particular those aspects of the business that the specialism is to support (i.e. localised organisational awareness from a technical perspective). | Familiar with |
| IT Environment | The IT environment relating to own sphere of work (own organisation and/or closely associated organisations, such as customers, suppliers, partners), in particular own organisation's technical platforms and those that interface to them through the specialism, including those in closely-related organisations. | Expert in |
| Product Evaluation and Selection | The analytical comparison of IT products against specified criteria (including costs) to determine the solution that best meets the business need. | Proficient in |
| Middleware | Software which forms part of the operating platform infrastructure. | Proficient in |
| Infrastructure Configuration | Knowledge and understanding of infrastructure configurations. | Familiar with |
| Cloud/Virtualisation | The principles and application of cloud/ virtualisation (including ownership, responsibilities and security implications). Use of tools and systems to manage virtualised environments. | Familiar with |
| Development Approach | Understanding and application of different development approaches e.g. iterative/ incremental methodologies (Agile, XP, TDD, SCRUM) or traditional sequential methodologies (Waterfall or V-Model). Irrespective of development methodology a DevOps approach may also be taken where development and operational staff work collaboratively. | Proficient in |
| Proof of Concept and Prototyping | Performing a proof of concept or prototyping exercise to demonstrate or evaluate the feasibility and potential benefits of applying a particular technological business change in order to meet a business need. | Proficient in |
| DevOps | The collaborative approach consisting of agile practices, processes, and procedures designed to facilitate rapid IT service and product delivery. DevOps emphasizes people (and culture) and seeks to improve collaboration between development (Dev) and operations (Ops) teams with the aim of shortening the systems development life cycle to provide continuous release of high-quality software. | Familiar with |
| Agile | A collection of methods, practises, tools and techniques, underpinned by the Agile Manifesto, that enable teams to deliver high value products and services in small, workable, increments. An Agile culture typically encompasses concepts such as Servant-Leaders; ceremonies, Stand-Ups, Sprints and Retrospectives; and the deployment of tools and techniques such as Backlogs and A/B Testing. | Proficient in |
Other Skills
| Title | Details | Depth |
|---|---|---|
| Process Improvement Techniques | Methods, tools and techniques to analyse and optimise processes in order to improve the quality of a product or service. | Proficient in |
| Legislation | Relevant national and international legislation. | Familiar with |
| Presentation Techniques | Methods and techniques for delivering effective and accessible presentations, either face-to-face or online within various contexts and to a variety of audiences. | Proficient in |
| Budgets | Principles, methods, techniques and tools for the preparation and monitoring of budgets to manage costs and ensure cost-effectiveness and value for money. | Aware of |
| Business Proposals | Methods and techniques for preparing and presenting business cases, requests for proposal (RFP) invitations to tender (ITT) and statements of requirements/work both verbally and in writing. | Proficient in |
| Techniques for Effective Meetings | Methods and techniques for running effective meetings and for understanding and influencing the roles played by participants. | Familiar with |
| Coaching Techniques | Methods and techniques for coaching individuals or groups by a balanced combination of support and direction, which could include use of virtual learning environments plus add-ons to augment feedback specific to work items, workflow or career plans. | Familiar with |
| Project Planning and Control Techniques | Methods and techniques associated with planning and monitoring progress of projects. | Aware of |
| Market Research | Techniques for the systematic design, collection, analysis and reporting of data and findings relevant to specific markets. | Familiar with |
| Resource Allocation | The effective and efficient routine deployment of resources, (but also including reassessment and reallocation in a dynamic multi-project environment), to achieve optimum results. | Familiar with |
Training
| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| Program Design Methods and Tools | Programming or system development methods (e.g. structured program design). |
| Systems Development | Systems development, including development life-cycles and methods, organisation interfaces, typical corporate application architectures, project and programme management, risk management and change control. |
| Coaching | Concepts, methods and techniques for providing coaching in subject specialisms to individuals or groups (e.g. GROW model). |
| System Hardware Configuration | Understanding typical system hardware configurations. |
| Mentoring | Methods and techniques for providing mentoring support to less experienced individuals. |
| Security Awareness | Tools and techniques to help users and employees understand the role they play in helping to combat information security breaches and for IT and security professionals to prevent and mitigate risk. |
| User Interface Design | Principles, practices, tools and techniques for user interface design and the creation of graphical user interfaces that make user interaction with systems, software, and applications as simple and efficient as possible. |
Professional Development Activity (PDA)
| Title | Details | PDA Group |
|---|---|---|
| Deputising | Standing in for supervisor or manager on a temporary basis during periods of absence. | Broadening Activities |
| Job Shadowing and Special Assignments | Undertaking temporary periods or secondments in other roles, particularly those that offer a new perspective on own function or exposure to other environments and cultures. | Broadening Activities |
| Project Assignments | Participating in a project team, working group or task force established to deliver a solution to a specific problem or issue - especially valuable if the group is inter-disciplinary. | Broadening Activities |
| Mentoring | Acting as a mentor, advising those for whom there is no direct responsibility, on matters to do with their job role, career and professional development. | Broadening Activities |
| Research Assignments | Exploring a topic which is not part of own normal responsibilities and presenting findings to colleagues and/or management | Increasing Knowledge |
| Gaining Knowledge of Broader IT Issues | Increasing and maintaining currency of knowledge of broader IT issues through reading, attending and participating in seminars or conferences, special studies, temporary assignments etc. | Increasing Knowledge |
| Gaining Strategic Knowledge of Employing Organisation | Developing a comprehensive understanding of the business environment in which the employing organisation operates and its position, policies and direction in relation to health and care, country and global issues. | Increasing Knowledge |
| Participation in Professional Body Affairs | Taking an active part in professional body affairs at branch, specialist group, committee or board level. | Participation in Professional Activities |
| Negotiating and Influencing | Undertaking learning and practice of negotiating with and influencing others. | Developing Professional Skills |
| Management Development | Undertaking learning and best practice of the skills appropriate to managing all or part of an organisation, including business and financial management, benefits management, people management, management of change and strategic planning. This will require both on and off the job learning and may include participation in an appropriate development programme such as MBA or DMS (Diploma in Management Studies). | Developing Professional Skills |
Qualification Components
| Title | Awarding Bodies |
|---|---|
| TOGAF Certification Portfolio (4 certificates) | The Open Group |
Government Digital and Data Profession Capability Framework Skills
| Skill | Level |
|---|---|
|
Architect for the whole context |
Practitioner Architect for the whole context You can: work to support wider organisational objectives beyond your immediate goals |
|
Architecture communication Communication involves conveying information using the most effective medium and language for the audience. |
Expert Architecture communication You can: communicate with technical and non-technical stakeholders at all levels, and across organisations, using architecture communication techniques |
|
Commercial perspective Commercial management involves exploring commercial opportunities whilst complying with the regulations on how we conduct and manage both internal and third party relationships. |
Practitioner Commercial perspective You can: identify appropriate contractual frameworks and approaches identify, evaluate and select appropriate suppliers |
|
Community collaboration Collaboration in the DDaT Profession typically involves working in a multidisciplinary project team, and contributing to working groups and wider professional communities. It requires a broad understanding of the technologies, principles and perspectives of related professions. |
Practitioner Community collaboration You can: work collaboratively in a group, actively networking with others adapt feedback to ensure it’s effective and lasting use your initiative to identify problems or issues in the team dynamic and rectify them identify issues through Agile ‘health checks’ with the team, and help to stimulate the right responses |
|
Making architectural decisions |
Practitioner Making architectural decisions You can: make and guide architectural design decisions characterised by medium risk and complexity identify and address architectural risks that affect multiple teams or domains use architectural governance and assurance to make design decisions and manage technical risks at the appropriate level contribute to the development of architectural governance and assurance |
|
Problem definition and shaping |
Expert Problem definition and shaping You can: lead the design and implementation of strategy direct the evaluation of strategies and policies to ensure business requirements are being met |
|
Strategy design Strategy involves creating a plan to achieve a team or organisation's objectives. |
Practitioner Strategy design You can: define strategies or visions across teams that align with organisational objectives direct the implementation of a strategy or vision, for example, by creating roadmaps or plans define architectural principles and patterns develop or maintain strategy in response to feedback and findings |
|
Technical design throughout the life cycle |
Expert Technical design throughout the life cycle You can: create technical designs characterised by high risk, impact, and complexity lead and guide others in creating technical designs that achieve organisational objectives use feedback to optimise and refine standards for technical designs throughout the life cycle |
The Professional Body Responsible for this job family is BCS. This job role profile was created in collaboration with BCS, using Role Model Plus.