I wonder what qualifies to be an architect in IT. I went through various links focused on defining an architect. There was a website that has even compared an IT architect head on with a traditional (construction) architect. Everyone seems to define architect as the all-important and greatest-ever resource for an IT department.
While I agree that architect works at the top-brass, defining the very essential characteristics of IT solution/product. In terms of complexity of job, leadership skills, soft skills and importance to an organization, an architect is no different than a project manager, sr. business analyst. In fact the role of architect is no more complicated than any other non-programming role in a IT setup.
There are many websites that define an architect role in couple of pages. Here are the ones I found worth reading.
Who can become a an architect from Sr. developer or Tech lead?
"The Awakening of a System Architect"
http://www.gaudisite.nl/MaturityPaper.pdf
What does a typical architect do?
"Things to Do in Denver When You're an Architect"
http://www.sei.cmu.edu/architecture/ThingsToDoInDenver.htm
"The elusive enterprise architect"
http://www.nccmembership.co.uk/pooled/articles/BF_WEBART/view.asp?Q=BF_WEBART_205593
"What's Wrong With The Zachman Framework?"
http://www.tdan.com/view-articles/5279/
To be continued...
