I only recently noticed a four-part series of MSFT webcasts focused on aspiring architects, hosted by Mohammad Akif and Dave Remmer. I found these links after visiting the blog of Hanu Kommalapati, an MSFT architect evangelist. He links to the aspiring architects webcasts himself, as well as Mohammad’s blog.
Here are links to the webcasts, as well as some high-level notes on the various topics discussed.
Note: you may think that these webcasts would focus on architecture from the MSFT perspective, but really the presenters do a great job of staying mostly agnostic to technology and platform.
Part 1 - Aspiring Architects - Architecture 101
What is architecture?
Why worry about architecture?
Types of architecture?
Types of architects?
What does an architect do?
Experience level for an architect?
Key characteristics?
What are architects expected to know?
Governance challenges and solutions strategies
How to be an effective architect
Part 2 - Aspiring Architects - Software development lifecycle and methodologies
SDLC approaches
Waterfall
Rational Unified Process (RUP)
Agile Methodologies
SDLC Tools
Methodology context
Part 3 - Aspiring Architects - Services orientation and other architectural paradigms
Solution types (e.g. rich clients, n-tiered, web-based, SOA)
Solution construction models
Object-oriented
Component-based
Service-oriented
Service oriented architecture (SOA)
SOA maturity models
Part 4 - Aspiring Architects - Transitioning from a developer to an architect
Skills of an architect
Things to develop
Leadership
Organizational dynamics
Technology depth
Technology breadth
Strategy for infrastructure architects
Strategy for solution architects
Process and tactics
How to be effective
Activities and experiences
Next steps
Will you feel empowered to confidently act as an architect after watching these webcasts? Maybe not. Will you get a good, high-level overview of what it means to be an architect, along with tips on making the transition from a developer/IT professional to an architect role? You bet!
I hope this helps!