I’ve been thinking recently on the subject on what group of qualities are required from a software architect. I ran through the usual things that crop up in definition of the profession such as deep working knowledge of:

• Patterns and practices.

• Tools and technologies.

• Design and development methodologies.

• Software engineering.

Then I started thinking of the additional skills that usually get missed when recruiting, the things that give a successful architect the “X-Factor”.

After some thought, I came up with this list of skills which are often missed:

• Charisma – Business users, technical team, analysts and product managers need to be able to buy in to the system. The key to this process is the ability to sell a system, and inspire confidence.

• Vocabulary switching skills – stakeholders and business people need different language from a technical team for instance. When developers receive a high level overview from an architect, they can sometimes be left without confidence in the solution.

• Drama and acting ability –successful architects should go further than just taking a view of systems from the perspective of the users. They should actually step into each role, forgetting all of their systems knowledge, and take on the users’ expectations and needs.

• Market Insight – Any well architected solution should not contain redundant parts, but should be easily extended with minimal effort. An architect should see this possibility, and not design in a way that could possibly inhibit this.

• Self discipline – All too often, architects place art above practicality. A solution should contain exactly as much technology as is needed by the business requirement. A software architect must be able to appreciate the beauty and ingenuity of a simple solution to a complex problem.

• Accepting feedback – An architect should encourage the business users and technical team to seek flaws in their design. This strengthening process is useful in building quality software. A strong character is required, but the architect should be ready to adapt the solution in the case of design issues.