Architects & Scrum: 3. Architects add vision

In my last post I stated that there is a lot of emphasis on the fact that architects have to help to get the scrum team to work better, faster en with more quality. By following the agile values the architect will help “strengthening the heartbeat” of the scrum teams. However the activities of architects should encompass more. In this blog  I will explain what this is and how to incorporate this in your way of working with scrum teams.

Architects add vision
Strengthening the heartbeat of Scrum teams is an overly limited view of the contribution that architects can make in an agile environment. They also help develop new design ideas, assist the organization in pursuing its strategy with the aid of IT, identify IT opportunities which could promote business value and assist in their implementation. Architects envision the future. In this way architects can also become catalysts for change. New IT developments can have a major impact on the business strategy and on the priorities for IT development.
This part of the work of the architect is often forgotten in organizations that are adopting Scrum. But is a very important part of the architects work. The following illustration shows the two primary aspects of the architects’ role. On one side they play a role in strengthening the heartbeat. On the other side, they play a role in envisioning the future.

As can be seen in the illustration, there are of course the necessary connections between the two parts of the job. The concept of “design ideas” is helping a lot to be able to connect the two worlds. In my next post I will go into more detail about the way the architects can connect both worlds and add more value to the organization.