"What’s In It For Me" Architecture

Technical excellence in architecture means nothing without the ability to get it implemented. Architects must understand the different motivations of stakeholders — project managers care about scope and cost, engineers care about their working environment, executives care about TCO and speed to market. Effective architects play devil's advocate to prepare counterarguments, use pilots to test contested ideas, and build informal influence with decision-makers. The role demands far more people management and political navigation than most technically-minded architects expect.