Who needs an architect?

I was asked to read a PDF writing by Martin Fowler, named who needs an architect. The publication is entirely about what architecture is and how is it important to the team.

I think, the reading is really about leadership. What type of leader you want to be? Because really, all an "architect" is, is a technical leader. It is a person that understands both the business needs and the infrastructure and software needs to tackle a particular problem. And leadership is really that, seeing the solutions of problems and accepting new challenges.

One of the things that I saw the most important is the relevance of agile methodologies in the role of an architect's team. Agile methodologies are a set of known structures of work that rely mostly on intense team collaboration, both internal (development teams, ops teams) and with the client teams, both business and developers. They are a set of ideas that will allow us to improve ourselves constantly by looking constantly in retrospective at ourselves.

Martin Fowler also describes a difference between two types of leaders. The kind of guy that imposes ideas upon others. That can not go with the flow of each day, and of each team, and also identifies the importance of the role of the leader that can communicate effectively with others. That improves this ideals that are really, more natural and understanding than what the Architectus realodus is.

What I take from this reading is that. How can we make teams appreciate their work? How can we make teams follow somebody for the conviction that they are leaders in some aspects, but that they themselves are a key role in executing this tasks. Both the team members, as much as the team leaders have key roles in making projects happen, and in overcoming more and more and newer challenges.

Diego Canizales 

:)