Becoming a software architect is the goal for many software developers. To me a seasoned architect is someone who has a lot of experience in different tiers of the software. It is very important for an architect to have their hands on the development. I believe a good architect is a good programmer as well.

In agile era architecture is responsibility of everyone in the team. Everyone should have a firm understanding of the architecture of the application. Although there will be one person more responsible for designing, innovating and simplifying the architecture, but understanding the whole system is everyone’s responsibility.

To me architecture includes both the infra structure and the software design. This is mandatory for an scalable application.

I will keep it short and would encourage you to watch this great talk from Molly Dishman & Martin Fowler Keynote.