How can you balance technical expertise with business acumen as a System Architect?

Consider that every team is like a neighboring tribe that speaks a similar but subtly different language. The software developers might talk about User Interface (and think about text boxes and buttons), the marketing team thinks about this term entirely differently, and sales immediately conjures more of an experiential picture. They are, sort of, talking about the same thing. The more complex and large the organization, the more critical it is for an architect to be the translator between these tribes to build a coalition around the architectural solution space. We call this Stakeholder Alignment, and it requires as much of the business acumen of negotiation skills as it does of the technical acumen to understand the domain.

Talk to everyone. Listen for the first 30 days. Then converse more the next. Take open questions back to people. Cross reference. Cross pollinate. Talk. Talk. Discuss. Ask what if. Find out what everyone needs. Only go into as much detail as you need until the patterns you see repeat. Then you don't need to go deeper until you need to flesh out that area of your company/product strategy. Let everyone know what you are doing. Be an open book. Listen to everyone and every little thing. Assume anything people say is true--and try to determine their motivation. Is it the correct one. You want to build a system that is authentic, has empathy to users, community, and gives proper reward for effort users put into the application.

As a first step is it required to understand the needs and expectations of your clients and stakeholders. Build strong relationships to ensure that the technical solutions align with business goals. Regular communication and feedback loops are essential for successful collaboration.

If you are able to provide the right returns to clients with respect to their requirements, that is the ultimate goal. Hence the requirement of ROI & mapping of the software is mandatory to have.

Balancing technical skills and business acumen as a systems architect is essential for career success. A systems architect, to integrate his business acumen with his technical skills, must fully understand the business objectives, challenges and opportunities. This will help him design technical solutions that effectively support the company's goals. A system architect must also develop the ability to make informed decisions, considering both technical and business aspects. This may involve evaluating different technical options based on the associated costs, benefits and risks, as well as understanding the financial implications of your decisions.

In this journey it is important to acquire a deep understanding of the business domain you are working in. Speak the language of your clients and colleagues to bridge the gap between technical jargon and business requirements, fostering effective communication and comprehension.

Experts love it when the CTO walks in the door and says, teach me what you know, teach me what management doesn't know, teach me what frustrates you. Who else do I need to talk to? Attend events. Read. Talk to all your subject matter experts. Find the ones that people think are weird. Or 'over the top', or too academic. People with PASSION for what you are doing. They will be your greatest teachers. Whether it comes from the sales, marketing, operations, finance, people &culture, or technology groups. Customers. Prospects. Prospects that did not buy from you. Learn everything. Look at competitor's systems. Find out how they think. Dismiss nothing. Also look for where their flaws are and what people complain about. It will inform your path.

Continuing the previous subject above, the terminology and business needs each stakeholder has is critical for understanding the overall picture at hand. Once we "talk" the same jargon as the stakeholder (say CMO/CTO) and we share the same understanding of the problem and proposed solution, we can use that stakeholder as an advocate for the solution offered with the other internal stakeholders (for example; operations), hence it is important to learn the correct jargon/terminology, and achieve that "bond" with the relevant stakeholders, as once they understand we're on the same boat with them towards their goal, they will help us pushing it.

Maintain a holistic view of the system architecture. Prioritize features and solutions that align with the overall business strategy and deliver tangible value. This strategic focus ensures that technical decisions contribute directly to the success of the organization.

We always strive first to gain the big picture as the business see it. Once we are aligned with business, and business approves our business solution brings the value they seek, we can then move to the technical implementation and focus on how to implement that solution with the other customer technical stakeholders. Starting with the technical design without seeing the business value of the solution will bring good results.

Respecting and valuing the people in other roles will help you benefit the most from their expertise and views. Even disagreements are opportunities for you to understand their perspective and improve how you communicate with different stakeholders and clients which links to point number 1 here.

Engage with professionals across various roles and disciplines. Collaborate with business analysts, project managers, and other stakeholders to gather diverse perspectives. This interdisciplinary approach enriches your understanding and promotes well-rounded system architecture.

Stay abreast of technological advancements and evolving business trends. Continuous learning ensures that your technical expertise remains relevant and adaptable. Embrace a growth mindset, actively seeking opportunities for improvement and staying at the forefront of industry developments.

- We always learn as we go. - We should always embrace failures. - We should always listen to other opinions and be open-minded for different solutions than what we offer. - We should ALWAYS question everything (even our own solution). - We should be open to embrace new technologies business challenges - In some cases, there may be others who did better than we could do in the project timeframe/budget. Never rule out using a 3rd party solution that might shorten the project time and improve your delivery.

Regularly assess the impact of technical decisions on business outcomes. Be agile and adaptable, responding to changing business needs. Foster a culture of innovation within your team, encouraging creative solutions that align with both technical requirements and business objectives.

If you are the designer and the architect, your system will be only as good as the number of people and depth and authenticity of your discussions. If you don't dig, your design will suck--or will break down soon in the cycle. I reject complete MVP. You need to understand your problem space completely and design the ultimate solution as you see it today. then derive MVP after sharing this vision with many people and getting feedback. I won't awards like Best Education Solution, Best Classroom Solution, Best Enterprise Education Solution, and several patents using this technique. Became the trusted guru. Learning a new domain is easy. The experts will fast path you if you give them attention.