How To Become An Outstanding Solution Architect

Learn all the soft and hard skills you need to take your architect design skills to the next level

Last updated 2022-01-10 | 4.4

- What is a solution architect?
- Soft skills that will make you a great architect
- Common pitfalls in large IT projects

What you'll learn

What is a solution architect?
Soft skills that will make you a great architect
Common pitfalls in large IT projects
Master architectural patterns
A hands-on case study to hone your skills
Learn Unified Modeling Language
Design for quality attributes
Design for deployment and testing
... and much more!

* Requirements

* You need a Windows
* Mac or Linux laptop
* You should be a beginner
* intermediate
* or advanced IT professional
* Optional: Knowledge of C# and .NET - this course is language-agnostic!
* Optional: Visual Studio 2017 Ultimate for creating UML diagrams
* Optional: Rational Rose for creating UML diagrams
* If you don't have Visual Studio or Rational Rose
* you can use a free online UML design tool
* That's it!

Description

Last updated on November 21, 2017 - added homework results

Are you a developer, or a lead developer, or a solution architect in an IT project team? Would you like to learn how to become an outstanding solution architect? 

The solution architect is the person who creates the high-level abstract technical design of the entire solution, and this design is then handed over to the the development team for implementation. The architect is responsible for all technology decisions in the project. This is an extremely important role. 

The job also has a really nice pay, it comes with a lot of responsibility, and you get to talk to pretty much everybody in the organization, including the executives and the CEO. This is an extremely high-level and important function to be in. 

Would you like to learn how to become an outstanding architect? 

Let me help you!

I will teach you all the skills you need to become an outstanding solution architect. I will not only teach you how to create an awesome architecture design, but I will also teach you all the soft skills you will need to really shine in this role and make an impression on your peers.

This course contains a lot of material to get you on your way. We'll cover how the architect operates in an IT team, which soft skills are required to become an outstanding architect, and which extra responsibilities you can take on to really make an impression on your peers.

I will teach you how to create great architectures, we will discuss all common architecture design patterns, and I will also show you how to design these patterns in UML. And we're going to look at all important quality attributes and architecture concerns. Finally, we'll take a closer look at caching, exception management, and deployment scenarios.  

Why should you take this course?

Are you preparing for a job interview? Or are you in a large IT project right now? Are you the lead developer and do you wish to become a solution architect? Or are you already an architect and want to take your skills to the next level? Then this is the course for you! 

30 day money-back guarantee

This course comes with an unconditional, Udemy backed, 30-day money-back guarantee. If you are dissatisfied with the course for any reason, simply request a refund and get your full purchase amount back, no questions asked.

Act now

This course today contains over 7 hours of video content. Enroll now to benefit from the current price and get free lifelong access to all of the content.

Who this course is for:

  • Beginner, intermediate, and advanced IT professionals who want to learn how to become an outstanding solution architect
  • Professionals who are about to take an architect job interview and need to prepare
  • Solution architects in large IT projects who want to brush up their skills

Course content

8 sections • 73 lectures

Course Introduction Preview 02:27

In this lecture I explain how this course is organized and I describe each of the upcoming sections in detail.

Section Introduction Preview 00:29

Welcome to the Architect And The Team section. I will give a quick introduction on how the section is organized before we get started.

Software Team Roles Preview 17:40

In every software development team there's always a need to understand business problem, create technical and non-technical requirements, write the code, manage the dev team, and test- and deploy the solution. In this lecture we'll briefly summarize each role. 

The Functional Analyst Preview 11:25

The functional analyst draws up the non-technical requirements in a software development project. In this lecture we will look at this role in detail. 

The Lead Developer Preview 13:48

The lead developer manages and coaches the development team. In this lecture we will look at this role in detail. 

The Solution Architect Preview 11:53

The solution architect draws up the technical design specification in a software development project. In this lecture we will look at this role in detail. 

Section Recap Preview 01:48

Congratulations on finishing this section. This is a recap of what we have learned.

Test Your Skills

Hands On - Assessing Your Team Preview 01:32

In this hands-on assignment you are going to assess your current project team. Are all software development roles present and accounted for? Is everybody aware of his or her responsibilities? 

Hands On - My Homework Preview 01:43

I did this homework assignment too, and in this lecture I'll share my results.

You've Earned A New Badge Preview 00:02

Claim your new learning badges here.

Your Skill Progress Preview 00:09

Review the skills you have learned in this section, and check your progress on becoming an outstanding solution architect. 

Section Introduction Preview 00:30

Welcome to the What Makes A Great Architect section. I will give a quick introduction on how the section is organized before we get started.

The Architect Job Description Preview 10:29

What are organizations looking for when they hire a new architect? In this lecture we're going to take a close look at a typical architect job vacancy, to discover the skills and responsibilities employers want to see in this role. 

Responsibilities Of Great Architects Preview 12:30

Great architects differentiate themselves from their peers by taking on many responsibilities. In this lecture we're going to take a detailed look at those responsibilities. 

Personality Traits Of Great Architects Preview 08:30

Great architects have personality traits that make them very well suited for the job. In this lecture we're going to take a detailed look at those traits. 

Common Pitfalls For Architects Preview 19:05

As an architect you are ultimately responsible for the technical success of the project. But there are many ways in which a project can go off the rails. In this lecture we're going to take a look at 4 common pitfalls for architects, and how you can resolve them. 

Section Recap Preview 00:57

Congratulations on finishing this section. This is a recap of what we have learned.

Test Your Skills

Hands On - Discover Your Strengths And Weaknesses Preview 02:39

In this hands-on assignment you are going to evaluate your own personality, communication style, and team power print, to discover if anything is holding you back from becoming a great architect.  

Hands On - My Homework Preview 01:37

I did this homework assignment too, and in this lecture I'll share my results.

You Have Earned New Badges Preview 00:02

Claim your new learning badges here.

Your Skill Progress Preview 00:07

Review the skills you have learned in this section, and check your progress on becoming an outstanding solution architect. 

Section Introduction Preview 00:27

Welcome to the Designing A Software Architecture section. I will give a quick introduction on how the section is organized before we get started.

What Is A Software Architecture? Preview 10:18

We've talked a lot about the responsibilities of the solution architect, but what exactly is a solution architecture? In this lecture you'll find out. 

Key Principles Of Software Architectures Preview 10:28

In this lecture we'll discuss the key principles of a great solution architecture. 

Guidelines For Software Architectures Preview 14:32

In this lecture we'll discuss some simple guidelines for creating great solution architectures. 

Introduction To UML Preview 15:30

The Unified Modeling Language, or UML, is an indispensable tool for creating and sharing architectures. In this lecture you'll learn the basic principles of UML models, views, and diagrams.

Seven Popular UML Diagrams Preview 17:43

UML has many useful diagram types for documenting architectures. In this lecture we're going to take a closer look at the 7 most popular diagram types. 

Designing Architectures With UML Preview 18:49

UML can be used to sketch designs, create detailed blueprints, generate new code, and reverse-engineer existing code. In this lecture we'll look at strategies for using UML in software development, and how Visual Studio can help you integrate UML designs in the development process. 

The Process For Designing Architectures Preview 18:24

In this lecture I will show you a simple 5-step process for designing and refining solution architectures.

Section Recap Preview 01:34

Congratulations on finishing this section. This is a recap of what we have learned.

Test Your Skills

Hands On - Introducing Our Case Study Preview 03:00

In this hands-on assignment I will introduce you to our case study, and you'll start working on your first baseline architecture design.

Hands On - My Homework Preview 02:13

I did this homework assignment too, and in this lecture I'll share my results.


You Have Earned A New Badge Preview 00:02

Claim your new learning badges here.

Your Skill Progress Preview 00:09

Review the skills you have learned in this section, and check your progress on becoming an outstanding solution architect. 

Section Introduction Preview 00:29

Welcome to the Architecture Design Patterns section. I will give a quick introduction on how the section is organized before we get started.

Layered Architecture Patterns Preview 13:46

Layered architectures organize architecture elements into discrete stacked layers. In this lecture we're going to take a look at several popular layered architecture patterns.

Structural Architecture Patterns Preview 12:44

Structural architectures describe how architecture elements are structured into discrete configurations. In this lecture we're going to take a look at several popular structural architecture patterns.

Presentation Architecture Patterns Preview 10:00

Presentation architectures are optimized for creating user interfaces. In this lecture we're going to take a look at several popular presentation architecture patterns.

Service Architecture Patterns Preview 15:56

Service architectures are optimized for creating API's and loosely-coupled services. In this lecture we're going to take a look at several popular service architecture patterns.

Hybrid Architecture Patterns Preview 07:41

Architecture patterns can be freely embedded inside each other. In this lecture we're going to take a look at several popular hybrid architecture patterns. 

Section Recap Preview 01:07

Congratulations on finishing this section. This is a recap of what we have learned.

Test Your Skills

Hands On - Create The Baseline Architecture Preview 01:38

In this hands-on assignment you are going to finalize the baseline architecture design for our case study.

Hands On - My Homework Preview 00:08

I did this homework assignment too, and in this lecture I'll share my results.

You Have Earned A New Badge Preview 00:02

Claim your new learning badges here.

Your Skill Progress Preview 00:07

Review the skills you have learned in this section, and check your progress on becoming an outstanding solution architect. 

Section Introduction Preview 00:15

Welcome to the Designing Layers, Components And Services section. I will give a quick introduction on how the section is organized before we get started.

Choosing The Right Patterns Preview 13:32

Choosing the right pattern for an area of concern can be a daunting task. In this lecture I'll show you some simple rules of thumb to quickly find the right pattern for the job.

Designing Layered Architectures Preview 18:19

In this lecture we'll take a deep dive into layered architectures and look at different ways to stack and organize architectural layers. 

Designing Component Architectures Preview 17:00

In this lecture we're going to take a deep dive into component architectures and discuss all the different component types you can use in each architecture layer. 

Designing Service-Oriented Architectures Preview 19:59

In this lecture we're going to take a deep dive into service-oriented architectures and learn about the challenges of exposing a business layer with loosely-coupled services.

Section Recap Preview 01:40

Congratulations on finishing this section. This is a recap of what we have learned.

Test Your Skills

Hands On - Create A Candidate Architecture Preview 02:19

In this hands-on assignment you are going to apply what you have learned in this section to refine the design into a candidate architecture for our case study. 

You Have Earned New Badges Preview 00:03

Claim your new learning badges here.

Your Skill Progress Preview 00:10

Review the skills you have learned in this section, and check your progress on becoming an outstanding solution architect. 

Section Introduction Preview 00:22

Welcome to the Architecture Considerations section. I will give a quick introduction on how the section is organized before we get started.

Design Quality Attributes Preview 16:30

In this lecture we're going to look at quality attributes that affect the design of your architecture.

Runtime Quality Attributes Preview 19:42

In this lecture we're going to look at quality attributes that affect the runtime behaviour of your architecture.

Planning For Caching Preview 12:24

In this lecture we're going to learn how to plan for caching commonly-used data in an architecture.

Planning For Exceptions Preview 17:21

In this lecture we're going to learn how to plan for robust exception management in an architecture.

Planning For Deployment Preview 18:36

In this lecture we're going to learn how to plan for several common deployment scenarios in an architecture.

Section Recap Preview 00:49

Congratulations on finishing this section. This is a recap of what we have learned.

Test Your Skills

Hands On - Plan For Quality Attributes Preview 02:32

In this hands-on assignment you are going to apply what you have learned in this section to refine the design into a final candidate architecture for our case study. 

You Have Earned New Badges Preview 00:02

Claim your new learning badges here.

Your Skill Progress Preview 00:14

Review the skills you have learned in this section, and check your progress on becoming an outstanding solution architect. 

Final Words Preview 04:36

In this lecture I would like to thank you for finishing the course and offer some final words.

Course Recap Preview 00:53

In this lecture we'll summarize everything you've learned, and review the skills you have learned in this course.

Bonus Lecture Preview 04:55

Check out The Machine Learning Advantage, my amazing new program that will help you become an expert C# AI developer!