Aspiring Arc4Dev
December 3, 2024 2025-01-28 16:54Aspiring Arc4Dev
Architecture 4 Developers
Welcome to the Architecture for Developers course! This course is an introduction for those wanting to further pursue an architecture career path and understand some of the key tenets and components of architecture. The course is an introduction to styles, architectural requirements, design by intention, agile architecture concepts and the basis for further study in the field of architecture.
This course focuses on the aha moments for technical staff who want to understand how they become architects and/or deliver valuable architecture. They are concerned with the changes needed to people, processes, and technology. To provide the greatest value, you must be able to move beyond creating solutions to satisfy a number of requirements to advising the customer in technology use for the processes and how people and processes will be impacted and need to change as a result of the changes your solution proposes.
Course Learning Objectives
- Develop an understanding of the skills and competencies of an architect
- Understand how an architect brings together a solution design space
- Work with teams and stakeholders through the Stakeholder Driven Approach
- Look at iterative development techniques and tools to understand optimization
- Look at architectural requirements and how they relate to features, functionality and systems thinking
- Understand the design languages like UML, Archimate and C4
- Learn and apply patterns, styles and reference models
- Understand software, cloud and data designs used in architecture approaches
Who is this course for?
This course was designed as an introduction to architecture elements and as a preparatory step for Iasa Core and then Iasa Associate Courses. It is targeted at mid to senior developers, technologists, and infrastructure and cloud specialists who want to get familiar with architecture and to prepare for the journey to become a fully certified architect. As such, there will be a final presentation at the end of class and a certificate of completion upon delivery. The CITA-Foundation Core course which follows this course is the first full level of certification on an Architects career path. We expect the following roles to consider this course:
- Sr Developers
- Cloud Native Delivery
- Operations
- IT Experts
The Structured Canvas Approach
The Iasa Structure Canvas Approach (SCA) provides a set of tools for the practicing architecture team. It includes over 75 canvases, cards, worksheets and documents all linked together but usable separately. Some of these were invented elsewhere, such as the business model canvas. The BTABoK team and Iasa have connected them in such a way to drive traceability, solve common architecture challenges (like describing design benefits and tradeoffs), all while creating the least necessary documentation set (a minimum viable architecture) and providing valuable, stakeholder education, buy-in and understanding. Combined with our stakeholder-driven architecture and architecture patterns library, it provides the most robust toolset ever created for a working architecture practice, for business, solution and enterprise.
What you'll learn
Module 1
Arch4Dev
The introduction gives you a long view of the entire course:
- Define personal course objectives
- Define class outcome goals
- Describe structure, value and function
- Discuss Architecture and its Definition
Module 2
The Architect Career
Understanding competencies in context of the career path. Becoming an architect is a lifelong journey.
- Understand the career of architecture
- Compare with Technical Expert
- Demonstrate the overlaps
- Demonstrate specializations and shared skills
Module 3
Solution Design Space
Describe the entire solution space. These are the areas architects consider when designing, delivering and deploying a solution.
- Describing a Project vs a Product
- Describe the Rational and Target Outcomes
- Describe Systems of Systems
Module 4
Teams and People
Understanding the role of architects and architecture in the modern team and team of teams.
- Think through the team and team roles
- How would an architect interact proactively
- How do we get buy off on designs and ideas
- How do we understand our stakeholders
Module 5
Iterative Development
In this lesson you will discuss moder iterative development techniques.
- Agile goals vs reality
- Distributed Teams
- Code Repositories and team delivery
- Velocity and Automation
Module 5
Requirements
This goes from an engineering-level understanding of the types of requirements.
- Define and describe architecturally significant requirements.
- Going from Detailed Requirements to Epics to Enablers
- Begin drawing out the design space and decisions
Module 6
Design Languages
Understanding the design space and decisions will help you to grow your systems thinking capabilities.
- Defining the Design Space
- Modelling Languages, C4, UML
- Visual Design Techniques
Module 7
Patterns, Styles, and Reference Models
Understanding the use of patterns in architecture is essential to re-use knowledge and solutions.
- Define architectural styles including Microservices, Integration and Modular Monoliths
- Understand the impact of patterns and pattern applications
- Find and discover pattern libraries
Module 9
Software Architecture
This lesson focuses on the software intensive sections of an architecture and where they reside.
- Define and identify modern architecture styles including microservices, serverless, hexagonal architectures
- Choose language and development platforms for multiple teams
- Describe the Development view within the architecture
- Describe the Testing Methods for Architecture
Module 10
Infrastructure and Cloud
In this lesson you will develop a basic cloud infrastructure view of a project by understanding what are the key elements, views, designs and decisions.
- Defining the development, integration, testing and production environments
- Define Platform Engineering
- Understand Cloud Patterns
- Discuss immutable infrastructure and replaceable components
Module 11
Information and Data
From large data, to data and integration patterns, this lesson will help you understand the solution, information, integration and data spaces.
- Define a working Data Model for the Test Application
- Describe how the information would flow through the system of systems
- Describe entities and understand the beginnings of DDD
- Describe data/integration patterns
Module 12
Closing and Next Steps
In the final lesson you will bring together everything you have learned into an architecture description and make a short presentation of your work throughout the course.
- Demonstrate changes in your behavior towards teams and solutions
- Understand the next steps in becoming an architect – the Iasa Career path
- How you can get your organization to start doing architecture right
Teaching Modalities
- 3 days
- 4 lessons per day
- Full time
- 45 min presentation
- 45 min workshops with. group
- Classroom
- Classwork – Miro
- Course Material – MS Teams
- 6 weeks
- 4 hrs per week plus homework Total 6 hrs/wk
- 45 min lessons
- 1 hr group work
- Homework
- Final presentation to instructor for grade
- Online (Teams)
- Homework – Miro
- Course Material – MS Teams
- 7 weeks
- 2 hrs Online Self-Paced
- 2 hrs Homework
- 2 hrs Mentor meeting to review homework
- Final presentation to mentor for grade
- Online Instructor Reviewed
- Homework
- Homework – Miro
- Course Material – Chronus
Maintaining your IASA certification
Earning your IASA certification is a big achievement—we’re here to help you maintain it. Continuous skill growth that extends beyond certification is critical to fueling your career and your impact. IASA certification holders need to earn
- Learning
- Teaching others
- Presenting
- Reading
- Volunteering
- Content creating
