Julia Ryan, from my Stevens Architecture and Design class, wants to know how many software system projects use architects. Do you use them in your company? Does it matter if it is a new or existing project? Exert some care in your answer, since there arre many companies that provide the title of architect, but use it to mean a variety of tasks. An architect for the purposes of this discussions matches Fred Brooks notion, that there is a single architect for a project that defines and fosters the conceptual integrity of the product. Follow the link to get more information on what Brooks means. We would appreciate your comments. My development groups, regardless of size use an architect. Later!
Julia Ryan's post:
Architecture is a fuzzy subject for me. I think that the fuzziness stems from the fact that I have not been exposed to architecture at work. I work on large software programs so I am surprised that I haven't seen it. I wonder if it is because I work on legacy systems? By legacy I mean, the code was originally developed years ago, and we are currently working on software upgrades (adding/removing functionality, code improvements, etc). Or is it because Architecture is not yet widely practiced? I'm curious to see if other organizations employ architects and architecture development on their programs and if they do, to what extent?
