Comments on Jason Chambers: Do Architects need coding skills?

I agree too, architects still need coding skills. ...

2008-09-06T00:27:00.000-07:00

I agree too, architects still need coding skills. Of course when you wear an architect hat you will have a lot of architecture tasks to do, but if you have good coding skills you can live "developer life". I like software architecture but coding is forever an old habit, with good coding skills you can write sample code, core component, framework skeleton etc. which help developers a lot. You also can review code to identify tricky bugs, to help developers to stick their code to the models better.

"At least at this point in our industry..."I wonde...

2008-08-20T11:48:00.000-07:00

"At least at this point in our industry..."

I wonder if / when the tools and materials for building software will become as recognizable as the tools and materials for real world construction. Do you think a.) it will ever reach that point and b.) that your argument changes with more maturity in the industry?

driveawedge - I agree with your comments on credib...

2008-08-20T10:58:00.000-07:00

driveawedge - I agree with your comments on credibility.

Thanks to everyone for contributing their thoughts and comments.

Thanks for the post and useful discussion.

2008-08-18T21:01:00.000-07:00

Thanks for the post and useful discussion.

There's another issue that is hinted at in this po...

2008-08-18T20:18:00.000-07:00

There's another issue that is hinted at in this post an comments but not directly addressed. Being able to code lends the architect a level of respect with the developers that can be acquired in no other way. Rather than simply occupying an ivory tower and offering up solutions that are met with skepticism, the architect can contribute to the implementation, gaining credibility. I have found this to be the quickest and most effective way to get architects and developers on the same page.

And, watch a few episodes of Engineering Disasters (a subseries of Modern Marvels) and you'll see that even in civil engineering, the architects and builders don't always appreciate the challenges of the other. Unfortunately in their world, buildings fall down when this happens.

I must admit I personally hate the word architect ...

2008-08-18T10:21:00.000-07:00

I must admit I personally hate the word architect when it comes to software engineering. Civil Engineers pass exams before they can use the title and take legal responsibility for their designs.

I personally prefer something like senior technologist if you need a title.

The question of should an architect code comes down to the organization they work for and what kind of architect they are. System architects in large companies seldom code and have no real need to as. They are tasked with how systems interact across a large enterprise.

Application Architects however should code. They are senior developers who are responsible for application design. Their skills need to be up to date.

I agree with yc. This industry is fundamentally di...

2008-08-16T06:59:00.000-07:00

I agree with yc. This industry is fundamentally different from others just from the sheer dynamism of it. How often does a sheetrock or a brick goes from version 1 to 10 or a complete framework change. From a personal experience level, I am currently in the process of moving our dashboard to a flash based solution (client side rendering vs the server side). If I had not gone through the process of building a protoype I could never have gotten the full understanding of state of flex, its current limitation etc.
And if the buck stops at me for going with this technology then don't I need to be comfortable with this technology at a level which can only be obtained by getting your hands dirty so to say?

I agree - architects do need to be able to code. F...

2008-08-15T06:48:00.000-07:00

I agree - architects do need to be able to code. For me, the key reasons that software architects are different from building architects are (1) technology is ever-changing very quickly whereas bricks, etc aren't and (2) software constructs are abstract whereas bricks, etc are physical.

Cheers
Simon; www.codingthearchitecture.com

Good post.The computing industry is different with...

2008-08-15T06:24:00.000-07:00

Good post.

The computing industry is different with civil engineering, like what you have mentioned, an architect needs not lay a brick himself but to have written some code.. he may have to.

It's all due to the nature of the industry as well as the methodologies and approaches we use for prototyping, design, testing, etc. I don't know what'd be the best words to explain this, but am sure we are telling the same thing.

However, in a project, an architect may not need to write a line of code, but when he's back home he could be involved in open source projects. A civil architect won't be doing those dirty work when he's back home.
yc